Project M ・Anima: Insomnium
by Songstress on the Starry Lake
Summary: One year after the fall of BEGA a strange dream starts to haunt Kai. This dream eventually leads him to an unusual but seemingly innocent girl who knows nothing of her past or identity. As his contact with this girl prolongs, he and his friends find themselves diving deeper into a clandestine project...KaixOC
1. A Dark Dream's Embrace

**Disclaimer: I do not own Beyblade or any of its characters that I use here. I do, however, own the plot and any original concepts and Original Characters (O.C.) that I may feature. All OC character designs and any images I post of them will also be owned by me. I am also not writing this fanfic for profit, or to in any way affect the franchise's production or distribution. **

**Original Characters: For those who care there are (or will be) links to a profile picture for each O.C. I use that is of some importance in my user profile. If you are new to the story, I recommend you look at them as the characters are introduced in the story.**

**Note: This story actually contains elements from Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Adventure/Drama/Romance but I could only pick two for the filters. While not AU, this does expand on the fantasy component of the mythos of the original Beyblade series as well as contain elements of Sci-Fi beyond what was present in the original throughout.**

**Other than that, please read & review, and enjoy!**

* * *

**CHAPTER ONE**

**~ A Dark Dream's Embrace ~**

* * *

A soft breeze sings in the air of a fine spring day one year after the fall of BEGA. Things have more or less been returned to normal only with the lack of fancy stadiums for competitions. The sun shines brightly on this particular day, perhaps more so than any other day. A boy of seventeen treads through the green grass of a park in the city, a bag of groceries in hand, his scarf trailing behind him in the wind. He stops by some bushes and sets down the groceries. A couple of playful furry ones pokes out slowly from the bushes as if familiar with the boy. He takes some food from the paper bag and sets it down for them, watching them as they enjoy their meal. Then, the boy reacts in surprise as he realizes something. One of the cats, his favorite, in fact, is missing. He looks around but cannot seem to find him. Thinking that he may have simply been playing elsewhere at the moment, he tells the other cats to leave some for their friend, strokes them gently on their heads and turns to go.

A pair of golden eyes and a pair of heterochromatic eyes with an iridescent glow watches from above a tree as he leaves. A soft meow echoes after the boy's footsteps as they fade into the distance.

...

The next day is no less brighter than the last. The flowers shine more vividly and the same boy's soft footsteps in the grass are once again audible in the patch of green in the city. A flutter of gold passes through the trees, catching the boy's eyes and he searches for it but gives up shortly, believing it to have been a mere illusion of the day's brilliance. He sets down the food for the cats as usual and sees that his favorite is still not present. The boy sighs and gazes up at the sky for a moment, allowing the wind to play with his two-toned blue hair. He is suddenly disturbed by the same flutter of gold through the trees, this time a little more visible, but nonetheless capturing. A soft meow is once again heard, this time from behind the boy and he turns around to find the small kitten he has been missing and picks him up gently. The kitten gives him his usual happy smile and gazes at him with his golden, trustful eyes but it differs from its usual self in that he wears a red ribbon around a front paw. The ribbon dangles lightly around its paw, tangled in itself. The boy removes the ribbon and holds onto it, wondering where the small kitten had acquired it from.

Soon, the boy got up and headed out leaving the playful little things behind. In his hand is a thin, red ribbon. Unknown to him, the same pair of iridescently glowing heterochromatic eyes follows his movements.

...

That night, the breeze blows gently. As the clouds part, they reveal a full moon. The slender silhouette of a female is visible in the moonlight crouching on the windowsill of a room in a large mansion.

At the same time, the mind of a two-toned blue haired boy illustrates a different scenario. Phantasmagoric scenes, red and bright, plays itself in the mind of the boy, starting with a black silhouette armed with a blade dripping crimson with one large, black wing on his head. It then shifts to a scene where crimson seems to dominate the scenery and then to a single figure clad in crimson stained white and pink laying on a crimson tainted field of flowers. Her face, covered with gold that had fanned out seems wet with tears and when the boy takes a closer look at her, he notices the light in her iridescently glowing, heterochromatic eyes fade. Then, darkness swallows all and echoing through it is a merciless laughter that is strangely alarming.

A light flashes as the boy bolts up from his bed, sweating. He looks around to find that his room is still shrouded in the night's darkness. He then notices a cold wind. He turns in the direction of his window just in time to catch a flutter of gold and remembers the flutters of gold near the cats he tended to. He dashes to his window and pokes his head out to find no one.

The next morning, the boy awakes and notices the red ribbon is gone.

"That's strange..."


	2. Encounter of Beginnings

**CHAPTER TWO**

**~ Encounter of Beginnings ~**

* * *

A month has passed since the incident regarding the fluttering gold but the same scenes has also haunted the two-toned haired boy each night. The gray puffs that loom over the gray structures and streets of the city now pour a colorless rain. Splashes can be heard despite their subtleness and a boy with two-toned hair seems to be the source of some as he walks through a wet, green patch that the gray has failed to dismiss. Assuming that the cats will be in need of care in such weather, he looks around for them. His search is made short by their threatening sounds signaling trouble as he finds them and one other figure on the grass under the mercy of a cloaked entity. He soon notices they seem to guard the fallen figure. Shifting his focus to the figure they protect, he discovers a strangely familiar sight.

A white clad girl around his age whose face is framed by her golden blonde hair lay on the grass. What interested him most is the familiar red ribbon, now with a bell attached, that is tied around her neck.

'This girl...' The boy recalls the images of his dream, an expression of shock taking over his countenance. 'She's the girl in those dreams I've been having.'

The cats let out more threatening growls as the cloaked stranger begins his approach towards her.

'I never thought...she'd be real.' He watches in shock still as the cloaked stranger stops besides her. His intimidating height causes some of the cats to begin scratching his protected feet in vain. 'Why has she been appearing in my dreams?'

As the cloaked one was about to pick the girl up despite the cats' best attempt at defending her, an impulse takes over him and causes him to quickly draw his blue beyblade and launch it at the unfriendly stranger.

"Back off." He tells him.

The stranger, noticing the boy's presence, backs off and pauses to take a better look at him. He takes off, leaving the girl helpless in the rain on the ground. The boy stares a little after him and then turns back to the girl. He kneels down and brushes the hair from her face then realizes that if he leaves her here, she would be vulnerable to harm and might catch a cold in the rain. Luckily she didn't seem to be injured or if she was it was not visible.

"Hey," He calls to her. It would seem she is out cold.

He then turns to the cats and feels a bit split. It would either be the cats today or the girl. Still, he had to make up his mind and seeing that the girl needs his aid more, he decides he will have to leave the cats by themselves for the day.

"Sorry that I wont be able to help you guys today...I think this girl needs to be taken care of first. I'll be back tomorrow...ok?"

He picks the girl up and turns to go, giving one last look to the cats for the day as if to ask them to forgive him before heading out of the park.

...

The grayness that dominated the sky is now replaced with a thin veil of stars. The same full moon from the night of the fluttering gold appears and a fresh fragrance that follows the rain fills a fairly lit room through the window. A pair of iridescent heterochromatic eyes flutter open and slowly takes in the light. Its owner, with a pair of gentle hands pushes herself up and tries to get up only to wince in pain. She then remembers that she had been injured by a blunt object earlier on her side. She sits still on the bed and looks around. The room she is in appears to be a bedroom in a mansion and although barely decorated, what was there seeems sufficient for comfort. The girl then takes notice of her clothing. While she was unconscious, it would seem someone changed her out of her clothes and she is now wearing a white T-shirt that is big enough to cover her upper body as well as sufficient parts of her lower body but nothing more. Her original clothes could be found on the bedside table. She then tries to get out of bed once again and this time she succeeds though it is still a little difficult. She walks out of the room and looks down the dark hall way. No one seems to be there and since she is unaware of what kind of surrounding she is in, she decides that it probably couldn't hurt much to wander around and find out.

...

The darkness in the hall eventually gives way to to a warm lamplight that is visible through a small break between two large doors. Voices from beyond the door begins to break the silence that the girl had grown accustomed to in the darkness. The girl approaches the double doors and pushes one door open to find a room as fairly lit as the one she awakened in. This one, however, is filled with people. A two-toned blue haired boy looks out the window of the room beside a black haired boy with golden cat-like eyes in white oriental clothing on a couch. Sitting next to this boy on the same couch is a blond haired boy with blue eyes. A navy haired boy argues with a small red headed one and a girl with brown hair scolds them. Watching them fight with the blond and the guy in oriental cloths is a small brown haired boy whose eyes are covered by his hair.

It seems nothing would disturb their friendly chatter but a small tinkle of the bell around the girl's neck when she shifts her position at the door a little. They stop completely and turn in her direction. The boy who was gazing out the window emerges his trance and focuses his attention on her as well.

"Oh hey there, you woke up." says the one in the navy hair. "How are you feeling?"

"She probably woke up 'cause you two just couldn't shut up.." the girl with brown hair mutters.

"What was that?" the little red head yells.

They were about to start up again when a voice from the black haired boy stops them.

"So what were you doing there? Kai found you unconscious at the park earlier today." he asks.

The girl did not reply but she merely stares at them blankly. The question comes again.

"Em… Why were you there in the park and how did you end up unconscious there?" the blond one asks.

The girl turned to the two toned haired boy. "You took the ribbon before..."

Though it was a small mutter, this left everyone in the room puzzled and unsure what to say next. Silence followed for a small while only to be broken by the black haired boy again.

"So what were you doing there in the park and who was that guy that was there?"

"I was playing with the furry ones."

"Huh?" came several in the room who was a little puzzled by her reply.

"I've been playing around with those furry ones for a while..."

"So what were you doing there today?" the little red headed one asks, still puzzled like the others.

"Playing..."

The doorbell sounds and the brown haired girl responds, "I'll get it" and leaves to see who is at the door. Then, the navy haired boy speaks up.

"Well anyways, we're glad you're alright now. My name's Tyson. The one next to me here is Ray and this is Max. Daichi is the little guy here and that's Chief and Mr. Sourpuss over there who you seem to have met before is Kai. Oh, and Hilary's the one who's getting the door. She was also the one who changed you out of your clothes."

"So what's your name?" asks Max in a friendly tone.

"They said...I am Lux..."

"They said?" inquires Kai. He had wondered about this girl's connection to those dreams but now he is almost certain something is not normal about this girl. "What do you mean?"

"The ones that I first saw...said Lux"

Just then Hilary returns followed by three figures who seems to be dressed for cold weather. One of them bears bright red hair and is clad in white and orange. Another has short silver hair and is clad in a darker theme of clothes while the final one, big and broad sharing the other two's style of fashion bears light brown hair.

"Hey Kai, your old team came by." says Hilary. "They seem to have something important to tell you."

Kai turns to them. The girl with the golden hair turns to the guests of the mansion and for a second caught the eyes of the red haired one

"Hey Tala, what's up?" Tyson says in a laid back manner.

"Something..." mutters the red head in a serious tone.

Kai looks up.

"While blading casually we found a large research facility located in the tundra. Guess what we found out there." the silver haired says.

"What is it?" Ray asks.

"We only saw a little, but someone's trying to conduct research on something that's related to beyblading."

"And?" Tyson is now more interested.

"There was quite some heavy security outside the building. But that's only part of why we think something's up." the silver haired says.

"Originally we didn't know the place had anything to do with blading until one of their "test subjects", as one of the guards who was chasing him called him, came out and tried to fight off the guards using a beyblade that was extraordinarily powerful. It couldn't have been a normal blade. The guy had iridescent eyes…just like her." Tala indicates to the girl with golden hair .

Everyone's attention turns to Lux. Lux looks back at them, then turns to the red haired whose expression turns a bit melancholic at the sight of her.

"Tala..." Kai addresses him. "What exactly do you mean?"

"We didn't come here only to tell you about a laboratory we accidentally stumbled on. After the incident, some guys in black cloaks came after us. The first time, we fought them, we found out they seem to be after us for having seen their little chase. The second time we ran into them, we got word that you picked up someone they're desperately searching for and that's when we decided to come here." Bryan tells him.

"It just so happens we need a place to lay low for a while until we get what's up." Tala then turns to the door. "Bryan, Spencer, let's go."

Then Tala turns to leave but takes one more look at Lux, his usually cold eyes filled with a sign of emotion unusual to his nature. Lux, who had returned the gaze looks after him curiously then turns to Kai. Kai, who felt her gaze, turns to her only to find that whatever strength it was that allowed her to get up and come to this room was leaving her.

"Lux!" several voices shout as they notice her delicate figure sway and fall to the ground.

Her vision becomes blurred and her senses eventually fade away as she entered a timeless realm of darkness.


	3. The Dark Behemoth

**CHAPTER THREE**

**~ The Dark Behemoth ~**

* * *

The light of early morning dances in quiet steps across the heavens. They slowly dance into a room that contains a single girl and together alongside the singing birds, signals to all that it was time to leave the land of dreams behind for a day.

Lux opens her eyes to discover that she is once again in the room where she woke up the night before and this time, her injury cares less to bother her as she stands up, dresses in her normal clothes and walks out of the room. The hall is a little brighter and she wanders her way outside of the mansion. She shivers a little in the chill air of morning and then hears a sound. She follows it to discover her savior training. He notices her presence and turns to her for a moment before continuing with his training. She sits down on the ground and watches him. Silence was the composition of their conversation until it was replaced by a question.

"Kai...is it?" she asks as she stares at his blue blade.

Kai turns to her briefly and nods.

"Last night...that boy...with the red hair..." she looks up at him. "who is he?"

"Daichi or Tala?" Kai asks.

"I think...Tyson called him Tala…" She replies.

"Tala was a teammate of mine. I don't know much more other than that Boris and my grandfather messed around with him in a lab a couple of years ago." he answers her without looking at her.

"Oh..." Lux returns her gaze to her feet.

"Why?" Kai asks, turning back to her.

"He seemed...familiar..." she replies, keeping her eyes to the ground.

"Why so?" Kai asks.

She remains silent, unsure what to say since she did not know the response.

"From what I can tell, you don't know much about yourself, do you?" he questions, pausing for a second from his training. "I can't see why you would answer a question about your own name with "they said" otherwise."

Silence ensues for a small while.

"I...can't remember...anything more...than...eight months ago..." she replies, hugging her knees.

"Tala said that you're someone that's important to whoever those guys are." Kai recalls his beyblade.

"The black one?" she looks up at him again.

"Who are they?" Kai asks.

"I don't know…" she shifts her gaze from him.

Kai eyes her for a while as if searching for more information from her. He sighs, "Where do you live?"

"With the furry ones." she replies.

"You mean the cats?" He looks at her puzzled.

"Cats?" she looks up at him. "Is that...what they are called?"

Kai gives up. Her clueless expression told him all the answers to his unasked questions. He then wonders, 'What am I going to do with this girl? I can't exactly send her home since she doesn't really have one...'

The girl tilts her head, a curious expression apparent on her features. Kai turns from her, realizing he was staring.

'I could tell her to go and she probably would...' Kai then feels a little bad about the idea; the girl has no home after all. However, its not like he has to give her refuge; he barely knows her. Furthermore if he let's her stay he'd likely have to pay for her food and other needs.

Kai looks back at her again. She seems to have been staring at him the whole time like an innocent kitten. He then remembers the dream he's been having every night for the past month.

'Then again, she's my only link to those dreams...' Kai watches as she blinks. 'She doesn't seem loud or annoying...and it's not like I can't afford to keep her...'

He pockets his beyblade and turns to go inside but pauses and turns to the girl. "Coming?"

She nods and gets up to follow him.

"If you don't have anywhere else to go, you can stay here." Kai offers to her, deciding to let his curiosity get the better of him. He then tells her, "After breakfast, I'm gonna go to Tyson's place. I kinda promised I'd be there to hang out with the others for a day. You can come if you want."

She nods again and continues to follow him.

...

The predominance of the gray above rules out the possibility of room for effervescence to exist below it. Beautiful white flakes drift here and there, constantly trying to break apart the gloominess in ignorance of the vanity in their attempt. The air is sternly crisp and cold. In the middle of all this lies a large building complex, a dark behemoth of metal, partially covered in snow and ice. What it brews is no pleasure for one to know, but gazing at its progress from its highest window is a thin graying man.

The intercom in a room of pure white sounds and is followed by the voice of a young man who speaks with the tone of a servant. He requests permission to enter the white chamber and that permission is granted soon after. The door opens, revealing a man clad in a black cloak. His face is hidden beneath his hood. He walks into the room slowly and respectfully, stopping in front of the man.

"Did you find her?" the elderly man asks.

"Yes. But…"

"But?"

"We have a bit of a problem…"

"And that would be?"

"Kai Hiwatari…he defended her while I tried to recapture her and seems to be sheltering her."

"Really? Well isn't that interesting."

"Interesting?"

"And Tala?"

"I'm very sorry, sir. Tala, Byran and Spencer got away and the whereabouts of Ian are unknown."

"Did I not tell you to keep our operations secret until the time comes and to eliminate all who discover our operations?" the man eyed the cloaked lad angrily. "Well, what are they up to then?"

"I'm not sure, sir, though it doesn't appear to be too much."

"Where did they escape to? Do you know?" he demands.

"Japan…"

"Did they make contact with Kai Hiwatari?"

"I'm not sure, but they found out about _her _when I tried to get rid of them the second time."

"So much for the element of surprise…it's likely they went there to alert those brats then." he mutters. "Very well, at your first chance, snatch the girl and make it appear as if she left on her own. Try not to leave them any hints that we were there."

"Understood, sir."

The cloaked man left the room and the graying man resumes his gazing of the scenery outside the window. The puffs of gray still stretch unendingly and the white flakes still continue to drift down.

Outside the chamber of white, the young man in the black cloak stands still. His seemingly emotionless physique now shows some sign of softness. He then shows some signs of physical discomfort as a single sparkling, clear pearl rolls down the portion of his face that the hood failed to cover. It falls and lands almost inaudible onto the floor. He turns and looks down a little as if unsure, then aggressively strides down the hall.


	4. Extension

**CHAPTER FOUR**

**~ Extension ~**

* * *

White puffs cross the endless azure gently, hovering over a cityscape decorated by emerald patches of nature. The air carries the sound of a white blade and a green blade as they clash several times in a blue dish. A pair of curious eyes, iridescent and heterochromatic follows their movements like a cat would the movement of a ball of yarn. Eventually the sounds of clashing stops and compliments and praises are heard. The girl of golden hair who sat watching the friendly beybattle on the wooden porch-like structure of the dojo turns to the white scarf dangling next to her and tugs gently on it. The two toned haired boy who had been watching her answers her through his eyes.

"Could... you guys...teach me?"

"Teach what?"

"Those…" she says, pointing at the blades in Max and Ray's hand.

"Beyblading?"

"Is that...what those...are called?"

"Uh...yeah." Kai looks at her strangely, now doubting Tala's words regarding her connection to a _beyblade_ related research facility.

Still, he had to admit the eyes she had are clearly not the eyes of a normal human being. He stares for a while at her hopeful expression then notices that the glow in her eyes held a strange aliveness.

"Kai?" she asks, tilting her head a little, unsure why Kai had stared at her the way he did.

"Aren't you suppose to already know how to beyblade?" he asked her.

"Know...how...to beyblade?" she repeats.

Kai looks at her again. The barely noticeable glow in her eyes indicates she definitely did not have a normal background but her behavior also indicates she's about as harmful as a lost kitten. After pondering on the choices for a few minutes, he tells her "Nevermind, we'll teach you."

Lux's eyes glow with delight as she thanks Kai and to his surprise, jumps up to hug him, sending them both crashing onto the wood. The others turn to see the two of them on the floor and Tyson walking towards them half asleep, apparently having just woken up. Before they had time to react to what they saw, Tyson mumbles randomly about a breakfast of chocolate coated meatballs and trips over both of them, falling face first onto a hard wooden surface as a result. Hilary and the Chief proceeds to scold Tyson and Kai gives Tyson a look of annoyance while Lux watches it all curiously.

...

It did not take long for Lux to grasp the basics of beyblading or the information the Chief, or Kenny, had to offer her. She seems to have a limited vocabulary base and that prompted some extra explaining or a demonstration from time to time, but she was a fast learner despite her apparent lack of common knowledge and soon built her own blade with parts that Max had helped her acquire from his father's shop. When asked to choose a launcher, to everyone's surprise, rather than picking, she pulls out one that was strapped around her waist and asks, "Will this do?"

The launcher she pulled out was a white one that held the shape of a gun. Furthermore, it seems to lack the need for a ripcord. On it, read the word, "Extend".

"That's a rather unusual launcher." Max comments.

"It is?" she asks, looking at it a little more closely. The launcher in her hands gleams momentarily as if calling to its wielder. Though unnoticed by anyone but Kai, the iridescent glow in her eyes brightens just a little as if answering to something before returning to its normal intensity. Lux then becomes a little adamant about using the launcher that she already had and since there wasn't much reason to disagree, the seven of them allows her and takes her to the park where she could have her first match. Tyson steps up to be the first to battle her as well as train her and this did not face much objection either. He pulls out a white blade that contains a bitchip featuring a blue dragon and loads it onto his launcher. Lux looks at her own launcher and then to her new silvery blade with a little bit of insecurity before doing the same.

As they ready their blades, Kai notices something change in Lux's eyes right when Tyson starts counting. The slight glow in her eyes grows stronger and the expression on Lux's face shifts from that of a clueless, innocent girl with amnesia, to that of a disciplined and fierce individual.

Tyson finishes the count with the traditional "Let it rip!" only to become blinded by a flash of light from Lux's launcher along with everyone else who had been watching. When the light subsides, they slowly recover their sight only to gape at an enormous crater in the ground where the blades were suppose to have clashed. Tyson gets up from the ground and though his blade is still spinning, it can barely maintain its balance and wobbles as if about to stop. Lux, on the other hand stands tall and straight on the edge of the crater. Her eyes appear calm but cold. Its glow is now no longer hard to miss. Her blade spins strong, the area where its bitchip would be glows brightly as well.

"What happened…?" Kenny asks as he stares into the crater.

"I don't know, but this girl's RPM is off the charts!" a computerized voice from the laptop Kenny carries around replies. It then continues, "I'm getting a strange reading from her blade too and its not exactly like that of a bitbeast!"

"So then what is it, Dizzi?" Hilary asks.

"How should I know!" the computerized voice replies.

"Tala wasn't kidding last night, huh?" Daichi comments.

"Hey guys, there's something very different about Lux's eyes, look!" Ray points out.

"You're right…" Max agrees.

Tyson too turned to Lux's eyes and noticed the difference in them from before. "Lux…"

Kai's eyes widen suddenly as he notices the unstableness in the glow of Lux's eyes and her blade's bitchip. "Lux!"

She turns to him and for a moment, appears harmless and innocent again. Then, as if something snaps inside her, her expression changes back. She turns her attention back to Tyson and attacks his blade with her silvery one, causing it to stop spinning completely. It was then clear she had won so she then walks into the crater to retrieve her blade and as soon as she makes contact with it, another flash of light blinds them.

After a minute or so, each of them blink their eyes open to discover the golden haired girl laying in the crater with her silver blade in hand. Her eyes are closed and she appears to be in a peaceful sleep. Kai is the first to step up closer to her. He scans her quickly and notices the gun-like launcher in her left hand. He takes it out of her grip without much effort and tosses it to Kenny who catches it with a "huh?" and picks the girl up.

"So now what?" asks Tyson.

"Kenny, analyze that. I'm taking her back to my place."

"Why?" asks Kenny.

"Just do it."

Kenny nodded to Kai's words as he walked off. All of them watched him as he left.


	5. A Gentle Light

**CHAPTER FIVE**

**~ A Gentle Light ~**

* * *

The evening air is soft and the night's silver orb is still rising. A pair of purple eyes are focused on the rising silver orb and its owner's mind is lost in a stream of thoughts.

The wind blows gently, playing with his two-toned hair. The stir of the girl laying on the bed in the same room pulled him from his intense thinking.

"K-Kai?" she says weakly. He turns to her to see her sitting up slowly, one hand holding her head as if it hurt. He turns back to the moon and returns to gazing at it. Then after a couple moments of silence, she spoke again.

"Could you...tell me what happened?"

"Shouldn't you know that better than me?" he asks her back without turning to her. Silence dominates the room for a few moments before a soft voice breaks it.

"The last thing...I can remember…was going to the park…then I loaded the beyblade onto the launcher…and got ready to launch the blade…then a voice...then I woke up here…"

Kai turns to her. "You beat Tyson in one shot and then collapsed."

Lux looks up at him in surprise as he heads out of the room. She then hugs her knees and buries her face in them.

...

The next morning quickly comes and soon, the moon, stars and other celestial objects are no longer visible. The sun shines brightly over a dojo where chatter and snoring can be heard. The sound of clashing beyblades are absent today but in its place, the sound of constant tapping of buttons on a laptop and voices asking curious questions are present. A boy with two-toned hair walks on the wooden porch-like structure towards the source of the sounds.

"Hey Kai, how's Lux?" asks Max who was the first to notice him.

"She's fine." He replies. "Kenny, about the launcher, did you find out anything?"

"I did and get this, it's got something pretty unusual in it." Kenny says.

"Yup, a fragment of a bitbeast" Dizzi adds.

"A fragment…of a bitbeast?" Kai continues.

"Yup." Dizzi answers.

'Now I'm sure Tala's information must've been spot on.' Kai recalls the events of the day before. He then goes on to ask, "What kind of a bitbeast?"

"We don't know yet." Kenny answers, analyzing something on his laptop.

"By the way, Kai" Ray calls his attention. "Are you sure this is okay? It's just I feel like we're digging into Lux's stuff without asking…"

"She asked _me_ what happened when she was battling with Tyson." Kai tells him.

"Huh?" All but Kenny look up at him puzzled.

"Wait, are you saying she doesn't remember what happened?" asks Daichi.

Kai answers him with a nod.

"That's pretty odd…" comments Max.

...

Meanwhile, footsteps made by a wearer of white leather boots echoes through an empty hallway in a large mansion. They stop at a pair of doors and a hand slowly pushes one door open. A face framed by golden hair pokes through and looks around. Lux then enters the room where a long table in the center and a serving of breakfast on it awaits her. A note lay next to it. It read:

"In case you're hungry, I left you some breakfast.

-Kai"

Lux looks to the food and hears a low growl from her stomach. She sits down and was about to dig in when she noticed the glass of milk that came with the rest of the meal. She blinked at it and an image of a couple of furry little things with furry, pointy ears popped into her mind.

"I wonder if they're hungry too..."


	6. Hesitant Herald

**CHAPTER SIX**

**~ Hesitant Herald ~**

* * *

The birds sing a patternless chorus as a gentle light nurtures all. A soft hand belonging to a golden haired girl sets down a clean dish and some small, furry ones gather around it with eager. Milk is then poured from a glass slowly into the dish and the small ones lap it up happily. The beauty of this patch of nature catches the cold eyes of a youth as the wind blows through his red hair. He heads towards the green and finds himself wandering deeper and deeper into it, enjoying the freshness and life that thrive in it. He stops at a bit of distance from some furry cats that were enjoying a small dish of milk and gazes at them for a while.

Then, as if an illusion, a flutter of gold catches his eyes and draws his attention from the cats. The red head looks around, searching the gaps between the trees with his eyes and scanning the treetops visible for the enchanting gold. He would've left and judged it to be a mere illusion of daylight but he sees it again. Not knowing what it actually was, he reaches for a white blade that he carried with him and loads it onto a gun shaped launcher. When the flutter came again, the strong youth launches the blade towards it but misses. The small ones who were feeding stops as a yelp becomes audible and scatters into some bushes where the fluttering gold had been. The red head recalls his blade and follows them to discover beyond the bushes, a girl with golden hair clad in leathery white and silky pink sitting up from the ground, rubbing her side as if in pain and assuring the small furry things that had gathered around her that she was alright.

As he watches, a melancholic expression forms on the red head's face as he turns to go only to make enough noise to alarm the girl of his presence.

"Tala…right?" she asks.

"Yeah." Tala stops to say. He then continues to walk away only to be stopped again by a gentle tug on his sleeve.

"Tala?"

"I'm…sorry." He pulls from her and leaves her staring after him.

He is not too far when another high pitched sound reaches his ears. The familiarity of the voice causes him to run back to the site of the cats to find the same girl laying on the floor in pain and holding onto her side. A cloaked figure stands beside her, stroking her hair. He was about to inject something into her arm through a needle when a white blade flashes by and knocks it out of his hands, spilling the liquid in it on the blades of grass a little ways from the two.

"Get your dirty paws off her!" Tala had recognized the figure in the cloak as one of his pursuers.

The stranger in the black cloak turns to him. Then he slowly turns around and walks away, leaving the red head feeling puzzled by his lack of aggression and the girl on the ground. Tala rushes to the girl's side to discover she had fallen unconscious from the pain in her side. He picks her up gently and carries her off.

...

The moon rises and the stars glitter across the heavens. A large door clicks open and the sound echoes through the large empty mansion as a two-toned haired boy steps inside. While outside, he had observed that none of the lights were on and deduced that a certain girl with golden hair was not present. He closes the door slowly, observant of his surroundings in case her absence was not of her own will.

'Where did she go?' Kai wonders.

He checks several rooms of his extravagant habitat to find that someone is indeed missing. Before he can decide if he should bother looking for the missing girl, the doorbell sounds and calls his attention. Kai carefully opens the door to find a red headed youth at his door.

"What is it?" Kai greets him.

"That girl."

"Huh?"

"She got attacked by one of the goons in the black cloak earlier." Tala says interrupting Kai, whose eyes widen at the news. "She's ok, but come to my place to pick her up if you want her back. Spencer and Bryan are watching her right now so she should be safe."

Kai nods and follows Tala outside. They arrive eventually to a more or less run down place and Tala unlocks a rather battered door revealing a small room with tattered furniture and a television. The shades on the windows are closed and the lights are off. A silvered haired youth reads a magazine by the light of the television and a light brown haired youth on the beaten couch watches something on that television.

"Hey, you're back." The silver haired youth who was reading a magazine says.

"Bryan, did she wake up yet?" asks Tala.

"Nope." Bryan returns to his magazine.

"She's in the room over there," the light brown haired one points out, looking up from the small television.

"Thanks, Spencer."

The two of them enter the small room and flips the lights on to find a girl resting on the bed. She had been tugged in neatly and looks as if in a peaceful sleep. Kai could not help but gaze at her for a while before opening his mouth to ask Tala for a more detailed report.

"Wanna elaborate on the details?" Kai asks.

"I went for a walk." Tala replies.

"And?"

"I…heard her scream and ran in her direction to see what was going on. When I got there, she was on the ground and a guy in a black cloak was standing over her. He was gonna inject something into her so I knocked it out of his hands. He just left after that."

Kai remains silent but gazes at the resting girl. He then steps closer to her and gently slides an arm underneath her and throws the sheets off to pick her up.

"I'm going to go." Kai begins to leave. "…and thanks for finding her."

Tala stares after him as he heads off with the girl in his arms. His eyes grow a little doleful as he watches them. He turns from the two and closes the door behind him.

...

When the moon has risen higher, the door to a room is kicked open gently and the lights of that room are flipped on. A two toned haired boy steps into the room. In his strong arms is a girl who seems to be peacefully resting. He sets her down gently onto the bed and tugs her in, then brushes away the hair that had fanned out over her face. He sits at the edge of the bed and gazes at her for a while and then stretches out a hand to stroke her soft cheek. He takes out a white, gun shaped launcher and set it on her bedside table. Then he gets up and heads out, flipping the lights back off before closing the door behind him as gently as he could.

He stands still outside the bedroom for a while and then walks off to his own quarters. Unknown to him, a young man with spiky hair clad in a black cloak sat down on the windowsill of the girl's room. He gazes at her in the moonlight but then quints his eyes a little in discomfort as a teardrop begins to form.


	7. A Soft Voice

**CHAPTER SEVEN**

**~ A Soft Voice ~**

* * *

Darkness seemed predominate and a single silhouette stood amidst a crimson scene. Many bundles were abundant on the ground around his feet and he kicked one of them harshly, causing a dreadful noise to escape from that bundle. His hair flowed in the wind that fueled the flames near him as he turned to a boy with two toned blue hair. A draconian smile formed on his lips and the black wing that sprouted from his head spread, calling forth a nightmarish wind. Then, all was replaced by a single girl, who stood in front a blinding light amidst a field of flowers. The wind played with her long golden hair. She turned around and smiled to the boy who ran up to her and held her in his arms. She whispered soft words into his ear, then fell limp in his arms. The boy looked down to see not only the girl, but himself as well covered in crimson. Then all of it broke into darkness and a familiar laughter echoed through it.

Kai bolts up from his bed, sweating. The laughter seem to continue to haunt him despite that he was now back in his slowly brightening room. He then feels a soft hand touch him on his back, causing the terrified expression on his face to worsen. He turns to its owner and at the sight of her, quickly regains his composure.

"Are you ok?" asks Lux.

"Y…yeah…" Kai answers her, still panting.

Kai turns from her, 'This...dream again...'

Ever since he met Lux a few days ago, he had stopped having this dream at night. However it has come back and upon waking up from it, he becomes terrified for the girl's safety.

'Why is it back?' Kai asks in his mind, still trying to calm himself.

Lux stares at him curiously.

When he is completely calm again, he looks around for the time before turning to her. "What are you doing up this early?"

"I woke up...and felt hungry…but I didn't know...where food is…so I went to find food…and ended up here. Then you did that...in your sleep…"

Kai got up and walked past her. "I'll be fine. Wait in the dinning room for me. I'll get you something to eat."

She nodded and exited the room happily, unaware of the vision that had played itself in the boy's mind. Kai gazed after her as she left the room. Then, fear fills his heart as the scene of her growing limp in his arms covered in crimson returns to his mind. He dashes after her and when he found her, still on her way to the dinning room, she turns to him in surprise.

"Hm?" she responds to his actions with curious eyes.

"N…Nothing…" Kai mutters, turning back to his own room. "Just wait for me, ok?"

She nods, a look of slight uncertainty forms on her fair face as she watches him walk off. She then happily resumes her trip to the dinning room.

...

A cloaked young man sat atop a tall tree overlooking a small clearing where a couple of cats played. The sun shone bright above and the cats below knew not of his presence. In his hands was a nicely decorated cellphone. The young man scrolls through several pictures featuring two young children and then he plays a recording from it. A soft voice in the recording says, "Hey, its Lux here! I'm a little busy at the moment so maybe you could leave me a message and I'll get back to you as soon as I can. Is that alright?"

He shifts his position on the thick branch and puts the cellphone away inside his cloak. He looks up and gazes up through his hood at some clouds despite that they were partially obscured by some leaves. He leans back and relaxes but is soon taken out of this calm state when a beep rings out. He pulls out another device, similar in size to the nicely decorated cellphone.

"Yes, sir?"

"Have you gotten the girl yet?" asks the gray haired man on the screen.

"I haven't got the chance yet, sir." He replies.

"Is that so?" the man muses. "That's very hard to believe considering Hiwatari's nature."

"What do you mean, sir?"

"Why don't you pick her up at night when they're both asleep and write Hiwatari a note. He won't stop her if he thinks she wants to leave, right?"

"But, sir…"

"What?" the man barks.

"…nothing."

"Good, then proceed with capturing her tonight."

"Y…Yes, sir…"

The screen on the small device becomes blank and the young man once again looks up at the endless azure. The bright light causes some discomfort to his eyes and he blinks rapidly tearing up as he adjusts something he wears on his eyes.


	8. Pride of Darkness

**CHAPTER EIGHT**

**~ Pride of Darkness ~**

* * *

The sun shone fairly bright and the clouds floated by casually. Two voices quarreling loudly could be heard, overpowering the sweet song of nearby birds. A boy sat near them typing away quickly on a laptop. Next to him was a girl with brown hair who appeared to be quite angry. After a minute or two, she finally bursted loudly when she could no longer stand the bickering behind her.

"Hey guys!" greets a blond haired boy with blue eyes.

"What's up?" A black haired boy with golden eyes adds.

"Hey Max, hey Ray, I'm glad you guys are here." Says the brown haired boy, looking up from his laptop. "I sent the data about the bitbeast fragment to Judy yesterday and this morning, I got this,"

He flipped his laptop around so they can see the file displayed on the screen.

"Whoa…" reacts several voices to what they saw.

"We had a hunch that this fragment was the cause of those bursts of light the day before, but what Judy managed to find only supports the theory." Hilary says.

"But what about the way my Dragoon almost stopped spinning when she launched, Chief?"

"Yeah!" adds in Daichi.

"Well that would probably be related to that reading Dizzi picked up before." replies Kenny.

"Oh."

"The fragment will take longer than the data did getting to Judy since it had to go by mail but it should arrive at her lab sometime soon so we should get more information in a few days to a week." Kenny goes on.

"And when that time comes we might get some light shed on Lux as well." Dizzi chimes in.

"Good." Says a voice some ways from them.

"Kai!"

Kai stood some ways from the group. With him, was a familiar girl with golden hair who held a small puppy in her arms.

"Hello, everyone" she greets them with a cheerful smile.

"Hey Lux, what's up?" Max greets back.

"We're glad to see you're alright." adds in Ray.

"Yeah, what happened the other day kinda had us worried." Tyson says.

"I'm ok." Lux says with a smile. She then cheerfully asks "Just now...what were you guys talking about? I heard my name..."

"Uh…" The six of them look to each other, feeling uneasy.

Lux tilts her head a little, curious what was going on.

"Well…you see…" Ray tries to explain.

"I asked them to look into that launcher of yours." Kai answers for him.

Lux turns to Kai. "My…launcher?"

Lux takes out her gun-shaped launcher. It had disappeared from her after the last use and reappeared on her bedside table this morning when she woke up. She recalls that she had been quite determined to use it but she could not recall the reason.

"We're sorry we dug in like that…" Max apologizes.

"It's ok…" she looks at them, ignorant of what was wrong with what they did. The puppy in her arms copies her expression.

"Well…we found a fragment of a bitbeast inside it." Ray goes on. "And…we thought it has something to do with those bursts of light…"

"Bursts of…light?" she turns to him.

"Well Kai told us you didn't remember it when you woke up again so it's ok." Max says.

"Wait, she doesn't remember her battle with me?" exclaims Tyson.

"Yeah, Tyson," Daichi answers him. "but you wouldn't know 'cause you were sleeping."

"Like always." adds Hilary.

"My launcher…made bursts…of light?" she mutters as she stares at her unusual launcher.

"We…only think it might have…" corrects Kenny.

"But why my launcher?" she asks, still puzzled.

"Well…" Ray tries to explain. "you pretty much beat Tyson in one hit and you're a beginner while he's three times world champion…"

"…so its obvious something's up," Max continues for him. "Kai was the one who suggested to look into your launcher though…"

Lux turns to Kai who was leaning against the lamp near the bench with his eyes closed.

"Well where did you get this launcher from?" asks Ray.

"I…don't know."

...

In a colder realm, gray filled as much as it could and nurtured a monstrous metal building. A graying man gazes down at it from its highest window at the white snowflakes that fell and partially covered the metal monstrosity. A door slides open in a white chamber to reveal two lads clad in black cloaks. The graying man at the window turns to them, a look of slight impatience fills his face.

"Where is he?" he asks the two.

"Sir, we're sorry." One of them immediately answers.

"He outsmarted us, sir," the other one explains. Then, an expression of sorrow filled his countenance. "He killed Remphy and Xen as well when we confronted him."

"Is that so?" asks the man who now look coldly on the two.

"We're sorry, sir."

"Well then, perhaps you can make that up by assisting Ventus." He turns back to the window. "He seems to have some difficulties bringing back No. 7."

"Yes, sir." The two answers and leaves the room.

As the door closes, a light breaks through the dark clouds above.


	9. Prelude of a Coming Storm

**CHAPTER NINE**

**~ Prelude of a Coming Storm ~**

* * *

Yellows, oranges, reds, pinks and purples took over from the infinite azure as the shining, golden orb starts to sink lower and lower in the sky. The sub's nocturnal silver twin was rising from the east and the clouds greeted her readily. A gentle breeze brushed through the trees and carried with them a gentle tune sang by a soft voice. The fading golden light of dusk stretches the shadows of two figures. A boy with two toned blue hair and a golden haired girl with iridescent, heterochromatic eyes walk casually together towards a mansion up ahead.

Two weeks have passed since the last attack by the cloaked man. Things have grown quiet again as they wait for Max's mother, Judy to finish her analysis of the bitbeast fragment. However, the past week has certainly not been uneventful. A family of stray cats and a stray puppy had made their home in Kai's mansion, all of which are directly under Lux's care. Kai could not help but notice that the way stray animals loved her almost seemed like something that popped out of a fairytale. He had observed, during the past two weeks, that the birds would gather to hear her sing in his garden and they would perch on her hand when she allowed them to do so. As for the family of cats and the dog that had moved in with them, every night they would fight over who gets to sleep on her bed. Luckily the bed was decently sized so usually all five spending the night with her anyway. Lux, sweet and kind at heart, returned their love for her as best she could. Everyday, for about three hours or more, she would play in the garden with them and she would bring as much food as she can carry from the kitchen to give to them.

In addition to her animal friends, she had also made sure to spend time with her new found human friends, Tyson, Max, Ray, Daichi, Hilary, Kenny, and last but not least, Kai. When she was with Tyson, Daichi, and Max she would often practice her blading, which she can now remember afterwards. This was apparently due to the removal of the bitbeast fragment in her launcher which led each of them to sway even more to the possibility the cryptic fragment was behind the strange phenomenon that occurred during her initial battle with Tyson. Kai observed that her talent for the sport could perhaps be compared to that of a beyblade genius he had encountered before and it was not unusual to see her hold her ground against any of the three for a little while. He wondered if her talent was natural or if it had to do with her unknown past. Sometimes he even wanted to battle her himself but instead he merely watched her.

Though she did not beyblade with Ray as often as she did with the other three, she spends one hour with him each day to learn how to cook. Her interest in the culinary arts had apparently started when she had tried one of the pastries Ray made and was so in love with the taste, she wanted to learn how to make it. Her attempts initially prompted much supervision on her mentor's end due to her lack of knowledge of danger associated with many kitchen utensils but she soon learned better and was able to practice on her own. She also began cooking for Kai every night to practice her new skills. Kai had to admit that she was getting good at it too, and fast. When he asked her why she likes to cook so much, she answered cheerfully, but with much effort in wording, that she was scared she might loose her memory again one day but that if she does, she wants these skills, whether in beyblading or in cooking, to remain with her as a token of her friendship with each of them.

Lux's interest in the way beyblades worked and with how Dizzi worked led to a mutual friendship with Kenny. She eventually grew interested in the physical sciences as well, particularly physics. Although her mathematical skills were initially terrible, she soon improved at an incredible pace. Surprisingly, she also seemed familiar with a vast number of programming languages despite her barely-above-basic ability to speak _a human_ language. Ray theorized that this is a possible result of her past.

The obvious fact that Lux had limited vocabulary and her ignorance of everyday customs made Hilary sympathize with her and take it upon herself to help educate her. Both being girls, they also often went shopping together whenever when they weren't hanging out with Tyson and his friends. Since Kai had to pay for the things Lux wants to buy, he usually ends up tagging quietly behind. Lux often looked very cute in the clothes she and Hilary picked out and that in turn would usually make Kai look the other way so that the two would not see him blush. Luckily for Kai, as the two were usually occupied commenting each other or picking out more clothes, they have not noticed…yet.

Kai had been enjoying the soft tune as he walked toward his home. He soon arrives at the front gates and he opens his mailbox to check for new mail. The mailbox mostly contained the usual mail delivered by the mailman. Then, he found something that caught his eye. Amongst the envelopes of mail inside was one that was not stamped and did not seem to have been delivered by the postal service at all. It also lacked a return address and all that was written on the envelope was the words,

"To Kai"

Kai ignores the other envelopes and opens the mysterious one, careful not to set anything off if it contained anything hazardous and was relieved when there wasn't. The envelope was relatively light and contained only a small slip of paper which appeared to be a note. It read,

"Kai, we'll be waiting for a chance to take Lux back. If that chance does not come, then we will confront you for her.

-No one."

Kai stares at the note for a while, causing Lux to stop her singing. He could not help but notice that the handwriting on the note seems like it belonged to a five year old who just learned to write for the first time. The words were also slanted in an awkward way. He examines the note a bit longer. The sender seems confident he would care and would oppose the idea.

'How can they be so sure that I'd care?' Kai asks in his mind. The sender was correct though, he does not want to hand Lux to them. The very thought of her getting hurt provoked a strange fear in him. He then wonders why they are even sending the note to him. In the end, he concludes, 'These wiseguys must be either cocky or dumb.'

"Kai?" a soft voice calls to him, breaking his train of thought.

Kai turns to Lux who was looking at him curiously, wondering what he was thinking of. She then turns to the note and reads it, worry filling her countenance as she does.

"What's wrong?" Kai asks her.

"I don't want to go with them…I don't want to say goodbye to you guys…" she answers honestly.

Kai assures her, "You won't have to."

She looks up, still a little unsure. "Really?"

"Unless you want to go with them," Kai turns from her as he replies and heads inside.

Lux, feeling more assured, follows after him, unaware of the three pairs of eyes that watched them from a nearby tree. As the two disappeared inside, clouds started to gather above.


	10. Gift

**CHAPTER TEN**

**~ Gift ~**

* * *

The radiant sun was soon out of sight and its silver twin now reigned supreme amongst the glittering stars that decorated the vast sky above. Partly covering the infinite darkness was a growing blanket of clouds. They hovered over a large mansion in the night as if about rain. Dinner had been served and consumed by now. A certain boy with two toned blue hair leans on a wall in his kitchen, watching a golden haired girl clean up. The way Lux worked so hard to make the meal and then so hard again to clean up afterwards would have otherwise amused Kai had it not been for the fact that he felt troubled by the note that came in the mail.

It has been two weeks now, two weeks of peace and quiet and a pleasant two weeks at that. It would even seem as if the danger had passed since it had been so quiet. Yet, the note came in the mail to warn Kai of the upcoming danger and officially signaled an end to the comfortable tranquility. It puzzled him as to why whoever it was would warn him of their plans. Surely, there was the possibility that the sender was a complete buffoon, but somehow, if that had been the case, things would be far too easy.

'But why have they done nothing for two whole weeks?' Kai wonders.

Kai turns to Lux and watches as she finishes putting back the last of the dishes. It would be true that the two did not converse all that often, but nonetheless the pure hearted girl showed him as much affection as she did to everyone else. Perhaps due to the fact that he was often quiet and did not reveal very much about himself to her, she often wonders what kind of things he would like. She uses the information his friends supply the best way she could to find ways to please him as a way of thanking him for housing her and paying for her expenses. Though neither was of great effort to Kai, he was rather flattered by each of her attempts.

Suddenly, a loud noise that seems to have been made by the breaking of glass resounds through the hallways, breaking Kai's train of thought and catching Lux's attention. The both of them pause their actions and listen in silence for a bit.

"What...was that?" Lux mutters.

Kai does not answer but instead, dashes to the door and looks in both directions of the hallway. He then begins to sprint down the hall towards the source of the noise with Lux following behind him. They eventually come to a stop at the door of a large room where three figures clad in black cloaks stood in front of a broken window. They turn to him and Lux.

"We have come to take Lux back with us." The tall one in the middle says in a calm voice.

Kai remains silent as he watches the three carefully. From the tone of the voice, he would guess that the speaker was not much older than he was. The figure in the middle catches Lux's eyes but as soon as he notices, he turns the other way as if to avoid her gaze.

"We will give you the option of handing her over peacefully and forgetting what you know of us or her." He continues, "However, if you choose not to, we will take her back by force."

"Fat chance," Kai answers him. "'cause she's not going anywhere if its with you freaks!"

"Very well," replies the middle figure. "I'll leave this to you guys."

The middle figure turns towards the window while the other two position themselves to fight. The figure on the left pulls out what appears to be a whip and the figure on the right pulls out what appears to be a laptop. The figure on the left takes out a black blade and loads it onto his unique launcher while the one on the left takes out a dark violet one and does the same. Taking the cue that they wish to use their beyblades, Kai takes out his own blue blade and loads it onto his launcher. Without warning, the two launch their blades, not at the floor, but at Kai. As if by luck, Kai launches his just in time to knock the blades from their path towards him and all three blades land on the floor.

"Good luck," the middle one mutters as he takes his leave through the window.

As soon as he was out of sight, the two blades starts to attack Kai's blade uniformly, not leaving a chance for him to defend or attack back. Their speed and power amazed Kai, but even so, he was not about to throw in the towel. An opening in the assault eventually came and Kai takes it as soon as he sees it, knocking the black blade back and weakening it in the process but the dark violet one took it as a chance to attack him. They were about to finish him off when a silver blade flashed through and knocked the two back, greatly decreasing their spin and power in the process.

"I was taught two against one isn't fair!" Lux steps up.

The two goons look to her and then to each other before nodding in agreement and taking out two more blades. They load them onto their launchers and were about to launch them but Kai's blue blade tore through both launchers just in time, rendering the possibility of more blades being added to the battle to zero.

"Why you…!" the one on the left grits his teeth.

"You heard her, two against one isn't fair. The same goes for four against two."

"Too bad, we're not here to play games, we're here for business," the right one says through his hood.

"And our goal here is to take Lux back with us." the left one adds.

"Sleipnir!" the left figure calls to his bitbeast to attack the silver blade.

"Hugin!" the right one follows.

"You two goons have had enough fun and its time for you to get out of my house!" Kai shouts, angered. "Dranzer, Spiral Fireball!"

The phoenix of fire knocks the two blades away from Lux's silver one and sends them flying out the window. The two figures watch as their blades disappear into the darkness outside and then turn back to Kai and Lux.

"We'll be back."

The two leave through the window as their companion previously did and was no longer heard from for the night. Kai turns to go but stops. He sees Lux walking towards where one of the cloaked figures were before and wonders what she is doing. She bends down and picks up something off the floor and returns to Kai.

"I think one of them left this behind…" she tells him.

She held a silver bitchip in her hand. On the bitchip was a faded picture of an elf.


	11. The Lost Children

**CHAPTER ELEVEN**

**~ The Lost Children ~**

* * *

The night air was cool and dense with fog. Droplets poured down from the raging heavens and splashed loudly onto what laid below it. The wind howled and carried two voices. Three cloaked figures stood, sheltered by a grove of trees in the darkness of the night. One of them, a young man with light blond hair and blue eyes focuses his gaze onto the device in his hand, listening attentively to the speech by the voice on the other line. Behind him, the other two figures listen too to the same speech through their hoods.

"Yes sir, we will try again." the young man with light blond hair answers one last time before he puts away the device.

"VENTUS!"

"Nex, NO!"

The young man with light blond turns to greet a fist. He grabs it as it was about to make impact with his face and steps to the side before pulling it, sending its owner crashing down into the wet dirt. He turns to his attacker coldly, watching as he got up from the ground. His hood had fallen as he fell and his long red hair, wet with rain, now flow freely. He glares at the young man with light blond hair with piercing green eyes as he steadies himself on his feet.

"You…" he pants. "You had no intention of bringing that girl back did you? Well, Ventus?"

Ventus answers him with a look of indifference and turns.

"Is that why rushed to get this job?" the red head inquires loudly. "You took the job so that you could be in charge and choose whether she gets brought back or not, didn't you?"

"Nex, that's enough!" calls the other figure.

"Stay out of it, Tanor!" Nex snaps at him. He turns back to Ventus. "Is that why you had us go along with your stupid plan when we got here?"

"Nex…" Tanor hisses in a warning tone.

"You knew that it would never work, didn't you? 'Cause you went ahead and messed up two times prior!" Nex shouts. "You knew that they weren't gonna leave her unguarded for us to take after your brilliant deed so you had us wait for that kind of chance knowing it wouldn't come and that by the time we realize it and move on, she would've learned to blade and can stand up to us…"

Ventus turns back to him.

"You had this planned, I AM RIGHT!" he screams.

"Think what you like." Ventus answers him. He turns to leave.

"Hey, I'm not through with you!" Nex persists. "Do you realize what you're doing to us while you go on with your selfish interests in her? We're not you. We're not nearly as impressive to Bizmark and if we fail, he would have us killed. Is that what you want?"

"Keep thinking that way and you'll never be anything BUT the useless trash they think you are." Ventus tells him.

"What did you say?" Nex screams as he tries to land another punch on Ventus only to be restrained by a pair of arms. "Let go of me, Tanor. I said let go! Hey!"

Ventus walks away from the two steadily as more yelling and screaming continued to be heard. When Nex, out of exhaustion, finally stopped trying to scream and struggle his way out of Tanor's grip, Tanor lets him go and straightens himself up.

"Why did you hold me back?" Nex asked him while straightening up and catching his breath.

"'Cause you shouldn't talk that way to him."

"And why not?" screams Nex. "Just because he can out do us on his missions?"

"No, Nex, that's not what I mean." Tanor defends.

"Oh, then what?" he snaps. "Don't forget what we promised Xen and Remphy!"

"I didn't forget!" Tanor answers him. "But I think Ventus is right about what he just said."

"Who's side are you on?" Nex bursts out. "Argh, forget it, leave me alone."

Nex runs off.

"Nex, stop, where are you going?" Tanor calls after him. He dashes after him but looses track of him. Then his eyes widen as if realizing something and he frantically searches his inner pockets for something.

"Oh no…!" he mutters.

...

The storm had passed and so has the night. A bright field of flowers glowed under the brilliant sun. Small birds had gathered in the middle of the field and dancing in a carefree manner in the midst of them was a golden haired girl. The wind carried her giggles and laughter to the ears of the boy who sat nearby and he turns to watch her. She resembled a beautiful sprite that only existed in the realm of myths to his eyes and that alone kept him mesmerized. As he watched her, a smile played itself onto his lips. Then, she suddenly falls and lets out a small yelp.

Not sure if she needs help, Kai gets up from his spot and goes to her side. "Are you ok?"

She nods, nursing her ankle a little.

Kai extends a hand to help her up and she takes it. Just then, a cheerful voice calls to them from afar.

"Hey Kai!"

The two of them turn to see an orange haired youth clad in white waving one arm high to greet Kai.

"Who is he?" asks Lux curiously.

"It's Brooklyn" Kai tells her as the orange head continues waving.


	12. The Melodious Sentinel

**CHAPTER TWELVE**

**~ The Melodious Sentinel ~**

* * *

The sun, radiant and majestic, reigned supreme in the realms above. Below it, basking in the sun's brilliance and warmth was an ochre colored house topped with a red roof. Greenery surrounded it and gave it a sprightly appearance. Visible through an open window sat three figures in fairly close proximity to each other. The smell of tea blended with the fresh scents outside and the soft sound of tea being sipped was carried by this fragrant air.

"So Kai, how have you been?" asks an orange haired youth.

The two toned haired boy he addressed takes a sip of tea, not really answering at all. The orange head did not take it as an offense however, but merely smiled. He then turns to his other guest, the girl sitting next to Kai who looked at her tea curiously before taking a sip. Delighted with the taste, she drinks some more.

"So who is the beautiful girl you brought with you?" he asks Kai.

"Her name's Lux." Kai answers.

"I see," Brooklyn smiles. "I think it suits her."

Kai and Lux both turn to him.

"Lux…it means light in Latin," Brooklyn explains. "and this fair maiden here is fairer than the sun."

Lux blinks, confused, not knowing the latter was a reference to a twelfth century text. Kai went back to sipping his tea. A fourth figure with silver hair and tanned skin joins them carrying a cake and some plates in his hand. As he spots the guests, his expression turns to surprise.

"Kai," he greets. "Didn't know we'd be having you over today. I guess that's why Brooklyn said to bring out extra plates."

"Actually, I saw them in the nearby fields when I went jogging earlier." Brooklyn informs him.

"Ah, I see." The silver haired individual hands out the plates and places a slice of cake on each of the four plates. Then, he takes a seat.

"Garland, this lovely young lady is Lux." Brooklyn introduces.

"It's nice to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you too." Lux returns with an innocent smile.

"You have unusual eyes." Garland comments, taking notice of the glow in her eyes as she takes a bite of the cake.

Lux looks up at him from her cake, still nibbling on the cream that remained on her fork. However, before more could be said, a loud noise reached the ears of the four, catching their immediate attention. Silence follows briefly as the four stopped their activities to listen more closely. A frustrated voice was barely audible above the ticking of the clock. Then Garland stands up and turns in the direction he came.

"I'll go see what that was." He tells them.

"Wait Garland." Brooklyn requests. "I'll go with you."

At that moment, Kai also stands up, causing Lux to look up to him. "In that case, we'll come along too."

Brooklyn and Garland nod in approval and Lux sets down her plate and fork and gets up as well. The four of them walk carefully to the room where the noise had come from to find a lone, cloaked figure standing in front a broken window. He brushes some of the glass shards off and angrily mutters something the four could not make out. He then catches sight of the four and turns his attention to them instead.

"Hey, ever heard of using a door!" Garland calls to him.

The cloaked figure ignores him and turns to Kai. "I'm here for Lux."

"You again…" Kai hisses. "When do you clowns ever quit?"

"Clowns?" he repeats amused. Then he bursts into laughter. "Clowns, huh…"

The cloaked figure takes out a laptop and loads three blades onto it and positions himself to launch them. "Fight me Kai, and if I win, you give Lux to me!"

"Who is he?" asks Brooklyn.

Without answering Brooklyn, Kai confronts him. "And why should I do something like that?"

"Why not?"

"She's not an object so I won't put her on the line like one." Kai returns.

The cloaked youth smirks and shifts his position just a little. "That's too bad…"

Three blades fly forward from his laptop-like launcher and were headed in Lux's direction. She closes her eyes and braces for the impact as Kai's voice called for her to avoid the danger. Though she had expected pain, a loud sound bursts from a source in front of her instead. She reopens her eyes to see that Garland had used his tonfa shaped launcher to redirect the three blades elsewhere. However, his launcher had suffered noticeable damage as a result.

"Hey!" Garland shouts. "Careful where you aim those!"

"Lucky girl…" the hooded figure mutters, ignoring him. "…but not lucky enough!"

The three blades once again head in Lux's direction only to be stopped again, this time by a blue blade. The hooded figure turns to its owner.

Kai's expression was serious; his eyes glowing bright with anger.

"Why you…" the cloaked figure glares at Kai through his hood. "Fine then, fight me."

"Wait," Brooklyn steps up. "three against one isn't fair."

He then turns to Kai, "Do you mind if I join?"

Kai gave no objection and so Brooklyn readies his launcher and his black and red blade. Lux turns to see that Garland's launcher was in no shape for use and so she turns to the stranger in the cloak. Not wanting to see Kai and Brooklyn loose to the hostile stranger, she too reaches for her blade and launcher as it was obvious that Garland won't be blading. Right at that moment however, a heartbeat resounded and the reality she sees bursts into a pure and complete light as a soft singing begins to echo through her mind.

"Where…am I?" Lux asks softly in the pure white realm.

"You are in my realm," a voice replies, leaving an echo behind.

"Your…realm?"

"Yes,"

"Who are you?"

"You already know me."

"I…do?"

Lux looks around for the owner of the voice but finds nothing but pure white. Then, a strong gust of power brushes past Lux.

"Your will shall command me," it whispered.

The world of pure white dissipated as the unseen creature's words continue to echo in Lux's mind. Lux was surprised when she notices that no time seems to have passed at all. She returns to the situation at hand and reaches for her blade and launcher and as if it called to her, one other item. She stares at that item, unsure why she took it out and notices that the depiction of the elf on it wasn't so faded anymore. Then, she switches her blade's current bitchip with it to try it out. Her eyes glow a soft silver as the bitchip made itself at home in her blade. Unknown to her, Kai watched from the corner of his eye while he battled the cloaked stranger.

"Argh!" the hooded figure cries in anger. "Why dont you get out of my way!"

He attacks and in response, Brooklyn launches his blade to help Kai defend against the three blades. Dranzer and Brooklyn's black and red blade push as hard as they can against the two dark violet blades and the green blade but seem to be getting overpowered.

"Zeus!" Brooklyn calls to his blade to support it.

Just then, a silver blade flashes through, and with its momentum, knocks back the green one and damages it a little, allowing Dranzer and Zeus to overpower the two violet ones.

"Ratatosk!" the hooded figure calls in concern to the green one. He turns to Lux. "You'll pay for damaging Remphy's blade, you MONSTER!"

"Lux, watch out!" Garland shouts as the anguished stranger begins his attack.

"Hugin! Munin!" he calls. "Soul Formation!"

The two dark violet blades attack in unison and each of them form a large, dark purple, raven-shaped aura around itself. Lux watches, frozen in her spot as the two neared her. Just then, a soft whisper enters her mind and as if granted new power, she became unfrozen. Her eyes flash azure for a moment and then her entire body radiated with a strong iridescent aura as she stood majestic and elegant.

"Elfe!" she cries, summoning the spirit from the blade

A brilliant burst of light erupts from her and shrouds everything in a pure white. A beautiful melody becomes audible and then the light subsides. Four pairs of eyes watch her, stunned by her sudden release of power. A swirl of light from her blade dances, creating another flash as two voices grow louder, chorusing not only the two attacking blades, but the idle one as well to their fate.

When this light had gone, three blades lay defeated and panting on all fours with his hood blown off by the force of the attack was a youth with red, flowing hair. He looks up at the four, his eyes glowing with rage and angry tears. He scurries to his laptop shaped launcher and loads a black blade onto it and gets up to try to position himself for another launch. However, he is stopped by a voice.

"Nex!" calls a second cloaked figure with spiked periwinkle hair by the window who catches the attention of the four who oppose the first one. "Cut this out and give me back Sleipnir and Ratatosk."

The red head named Nex turns to him in anger. "No way, I won't!"

"What you're doing is pointless!" reasons the second cloaked figure. "Why don't you go back to what Ventus said and think about why Xen and Remphy died!"

"Shut it, Tanor!" Nex cries out. He then raises a hand and points to Lux who is watching the verbal conflict with Brooklyn, Kai and Garland. "The reason why they're gone are all thanks to successful calamities like HER!"

"Quit this!" shouts the one called Tanor. "I know your brother meant a lot to you, but snap out of this madness and think! Just look at how hard Xen and Remphy tried and what happened to them! Think back to what Ventus said! Do you really think you can keep your promise to Xen and Remphy by being Bizmark's most useful tool!"

Nex's eyes widen in shock upon hearing the last sentence. Tears started flowing from his eyes as he falls back onto all fours and sobs.

"Well, do you?" scolds the second figure. "'Cause if you do, you really will never be anything BUT someone who failed to be a human being of his own will and power."

Brooklyn and Garland look to each other, confused as to what is going on while Lux turns to Kai who continues to watch the crying red head and the cloaked stranger who scolded him. Nex then he looks up, sobbing. A loud, angry cry sounds and it is then carried by the wind to the ears of a youth with light blond hair who sits atop a tree with a decorated cellphone in his hand. He looks up to the neverending azure and closes his eyes.


	13. New Necropolis

**CHAPTER THIRTEEN**

**~ New Necropolis ~**

* * *

The vast azure above is once again replaced by warm vivid colors as the gold colored sun sinks into the western horizon. Its silvery sister rises from the east as its golden brother had hours ago and is welcomed warmly by the other celestial objects. As the colors change above, a golden haired girl lay fast asleep on a soft couch with three sleeping fur balls in her arms. The light from the sunset amplifies the golden glow of her fanned out hair. Leaning on a nearby wall and gazing at the scenery outside is a boy with two toned blue hair. He turns from the sunset and walks quietly to the sleeping girl. Without waking her, he kneels down and extends one hand to brush back some hair that had fallen over her face.

After the battle that took place earlier at Brooklyn's house, Nex and Tanor, two of the cloaked figures that had been after Lux decided to defect from the organization they had worked for to try to live out lives as ordinary people. Kai had tried to gather any relevant information they may have on the organization they worked for but met with little success. It would seem that the two had fairly limited knowledge of the workings and intentions of the organization. They revealed that they have been inculcated with the belief that they are "failed or useless trash" that can never be as capable as "the successful ones" are from as far back as they can remember by a man named Bizmark who also gave them orders. Like Lux, their memories were also fairly limited. Nex's memory included that of his brother, Xen but he was able to recall only up to events three years ago. Tanor's recollections extended a little longer than Nex's did by half a year more but likewise, his knowledge of the organization he worked for since his first memory were limited. They also mention that a young man named Ventus who was famed and favored for his successful missions and combat abilities had been assigned to capture Lux before them as well as Nex's unproven thesis that he's been secretly preventing Lux's capture by failing his mission purposely. To that, Lux had commented that the name was familiar to her but did not know why.

Kai gently strokes Lux's hair, causing her to stir a little to the touch. He pulls back, not wanting to wake her. Then, he notices that he was rather thirsty and since he hadn't had a sip of water for hours, he gets up and leaves the room for a glass. As he leaves, a figure clad in a black cloak gently creaks the window open and slips in silently. He approaches the sleeping girl like a shadow and slips an object into her hand. He bends down and whispers something to her and exits through the window just as the door to the room clicks open.

As Kai reenters the room with a glass of water in hand, he immediately takes notice of the opened window and becomes alert. He searches the room with his eyes for any unwanted guests and finds none. He then notices a gleaming object in Lux's hand that was previously not present and carefully walks to her, setting his glass of water onto a nearby table so he can examine the object. The sound of the glass being set on the table awakens one of the cats napping with Lux and it meows audibly at the sight of Kai, causing for a pair of iridescent heterochromatic eyes to flutter open.

"K…Kai?" Lux greets him, apparently still sleepy.

"Sorry…" Kai mutters, looking the other way and scolding himself mentally for being so careless.

"What's this?"

Lux sits up and sets the cats down to examine the object in her hand. She holds up the object in the light and notices its iridescent gleam. She flips it around and back to discover nothing written on its case. She then shows it to Kai who examines it as well.

"Let's take this to Kenny tomorrow." Kai suggests to her.

Lux answers with a nod.

...

Far away from the two, gray clouds loom thick above a frozen realm. Light seems scarce and in the midst of this place is a large, partly covered behemoth of metal. The wind howls furiously and slams white, cold shards of ice onto the stationary creature as if trying to bury it. Inside the creature iss a dark, windowless room. The only thing that seems to allow vision inside this room is the large monitor at the front that is connected to a network of a dozen other terminals. In the back of the room two figures stand tall and august above the people clad in white lab coats below them.

"Bizmark," addresses one of the two figures in the back to the other one. "how much longer will I have to wait for you to bring me back No. 7 and No. 101?"

"You'll have them back, doctor" the graying priest-like man next to him replies. "We just have…a little bit of a problem."

"Oh?" the dark haired man clad in white seems amused. "How so?"

"You work was successful," remarks the graying man named Bizmark. "perhaps too successful.".

"Really now, is that a compliment or a complaint?"

The preacher ignores him and turns to the people below. "Connect me to Nex and Tanor. I want a report from them."

"You didn't send that other boy?" inquires the dark haired man.

"I did," answers Bizmark. "but he's been failing me so I sent these two."

"Oh?"

"He's a smart boy. I can't check on him directly but I do have a hunch he's been failing on purpose. Such an assignment should be elementary to him."

"So you sent those other two to work with him?"

"Sir, they're not responding," reports one of the people in the white lab coats.

"What do you mean they're not responding!" Bizmark barks angrily.

"What's wrong, Bizmark, you don't seem pleased." taunts the dark haired doctor.

Ignoring him again, Bizmark calls out to the people below, "Then get Ventus on!"

"We can't find his locator's signal, sir."

The dark haired man laughs, amused.

Bizmark glares coldly at the dark haired doctor before turning back to his employees below.

"Try again!" Bizmark barks.

"It's not working sir, his locator might have been destroyed." one of the people below reports.

The laughter next to Bizmark grew louder and Bizmark gritted his teeth and barked another command, "Then get Velvet on the line and tell her I want a report on No. 101. I'll get back to Ventus later."

"Yes, sir."

"So it seems No. 7 won't be back anytime soon, eh?" jests the dark haired man.

"Someone has responded, sir."

On the screen at the front of the room, a window pops up to reveal the face of an ashen skinned youth bearing platinum hair and glowing iridescent eyes. A large, folded, black wing seems to be jutting out one side of his head. He smiles warmly yet menacingly, his gaze kept away from the screen.

"Of like minds,

I seek.

A mystic of the arcane,

A possessor of wisdom,

A mighty creature,

A loyal follower,

I find..."

He stops and turns to address the two at the back of the room who stood aghast at the sight of him. "Ah, it's you two, Velvet is...a little dead right now. But you were looking for me, right? Do you miss me?"

The two men back away from the screen as the youth laughs watching them. The door behind Bizmark and the dark haired man then slides open to allow the same maniacal laughter to flow into the room. The two of them turn to come face to face with the livid creature.

"Oh, what's the matter?" he asks them. "You were looking for me yet you don't seem happy to see me…"

The livid youth takes a few steps towards the two of them causing them to retreat from him in fear. Then his lips curved into a vindictive grin.

"But of course," he comes yet closer to the two. "after the two of you had so much fun turning me into what I am…"

Screams and shouts became audible in the frozen realm as a figure bursts out from the metallic behemoth. Black smoke flows out from where he came and courses upward as the one winged youth lands on the icy surface below. Four figures cloaked in black greet him tacitly as he turns back towards the behemoth one last time before treading steadily away from it with the four. Crimson marked his tracks but the blizzard buries them along with the crumpling behemoth of metal. A light breaks in the dark clouds briefly as if lamenting the pitiful sight below it.


	14. Remnants of Bliss

**CHAPTER FOURTEEN**

**~ Remnants of Bliss ~**

* * *

A winged creature soars across the vast azure above as two voices quarreling loudly are then joined by a third. A black haired boy with golden eyes and a blond one with blue eyes watches three youths around their own age bicker as a smaller brown haired boy sits near them on a wooden porch-like structure typing away furiously on his laptop. The breeze came by and carried the sound of chirping birds with it as a two toned haired boy and a golden haired girl approaches the six.

"Hey Kai, Hey Lux," Ray greets them.

"Hello," Lux greets back while Kai leaned back on a wooden pillar of the dojo nearby.

"Oh, hey guys!" Kenny greets greets them. "Did you and Kai get my message last night?"

Lux nods with a smile.

"Well…here's what Judy found out," Kenny says, getting back into his usual tone, as he flips his laptop around for the others to see. "That bitbeast fragment, based on its DNA was originally from a butterfly-like bitbeast. What's unusual about this bitbeast is that unlike the ones we're used to this one is corporeal and it's able to live even after it is cut up into pieces. Judy also found out that it doesn't have any offensive power but it does have a special ability though Judy hasn't been able to determine the exact nature of this special ability yet."

"I wonder what kind of special ability it has…" Tyson wonders out loud.

"Well," Dizzi chimes in. "That's what we don't know yet."

"But if that's the case, then what was it that made the crater in the ground?" asks Max.

"And beat Tyson in one hit!" adds Daichi.

"We don't have that information yet." Kenny says. "Though like I said before, that could have something to do with the strange readings we got during the match."

"Then why don't we put the fragment back into Lux's launcher and get some more data?" Tyson suggests.

"Uh…Tyson, that's not a good idea." Hilary answers him.

"Why not?" he asks loudly.

"She made a huge crater and completely defeated you in one hit last time." Ray reasons. "Who knows what might happen if we put the fragment back in and tell her to use it a second time."

"I guess you're right…" Tyson says softly, agreeing with him.

Lux takes out a flat, translucent case with an unlabeled disk in it and holds it out. "I got this yesterday."

Kenny takes the disk curiously and asks, "What's in it?"

"I don't know…"

"Well then, let's see." He pops the disk into his laptop. A window popped up on the screen and two items were present in it. One of them was a folder while the other was a text file. Kenny opened the text file and read aloud the contents.

"Dear Lux,

Please see the contents of the folder.

-Someone"

"What's this all about?" Tyson mouthed.

Kenny then opened the folder.

"That's a lot of pictures…" Max remarks as Kai gets off the wooden pillar and comes closer to see the pictures.

The pictures featured mostly a young golden haired girl with heterochromatic eyes of pink and blue. Most of them contained at least one other person or a pet. Some appeared to be family photos while others featured her with a pet or with a boy with light blond hair.

"Hey Lux, the girl in these pictures kind of look like you." Daichi comments.

"These photos seem to be sorted by date." Kenny points out.

"Hey guys, look at that couple that's in all the family photos. They have the same golden hair as the little girl." Ray points out, "I think they might be her parents."

"Is that a mansion in that one?" Hilary asks, pointing to one of them.

"Hey who's the guy with the light blond hair?" asks Tyson.

"Maybe her older brother?" suggests Daichi.

"Then why's he not in any of the earlier pictures?" Max asks.

"You're right…"

"Maybe a friend?"

"Or her boyfriend?"

"No way, she's too young! At least in these pictures…"

"Could be a next door neighbor…"

"I know! It's her butler!"

"Daichi, he's not even dressed like one…"

Kai turns from the photos to Lux. The girl seems unable to take her eyes off the pictures and the slight iridescent glow in her eyes seems to have almost diminished. It was clear she was deep in a trance of thoughts.

"Lux," he calls her softly. "Do you recognize any of this?"

Lux snaps from the pictures and turns to Kai. The slight glow that was normally present in her eyes returned.

"No, not at all..." she turns back to the pictures while Kai continues to watch her.

...

In a place where light was not so abundant, a large, black wing lined with scales spread and glides down to the center of four lounging, cloaked figures. A pair of feet protected by boots of metal plates soundlessly makes contact with the gray cement. The four figures clad in black cloaks turn to acquiesce the presence of the one winged creature before returning to their individual activities. Sounds from a hand held gaming device and constant spamming of buttons echoed and is accompanied by the occasional turning of pages. A yawn sounds from a corner of the dark, spacious place.

"I'm bored…" sounds a voice from the same corner as the yawn.

"Yeah, so?" sounds another voice from the same direction as the source of the occasional turning of pages.

"I want some action…" whines the voice from that complained of boredom.

"You'll get it when the time comes." A voice from the corner silent so far assures.

"Quiet, I'm trying to concentrate!" yells a voice from the corner where the button spamming and gaming sounds originate.

"I wonder if she'll come…" the childish voice of the whiner wonders out loud. "We would make best friends for sure!"

"Maybe she will…" the voice from the magazine reader answers. "…or maybe she won't"

"I hope she does…" the childish whiner says. "...if she doesn't, I'll have to hurt the sweet, pretty thing."


	15. Delivery

**Sorry this chapter took so long, I was occupied by some stuff. Also, I'd like to give a word of thanks to all who reviewed or have been following the story.**

* * *

**CHAPTER FIFTEEN**

**~ Delivery ~**

* * *

Fading smudges of yellows and oranges linger on in the vast darkening sky above. The moon, having just risen from the eastern horizon floats slowly higher. In this dim light of dusk, a red haired youth treads through a darkening patch of trees. The air was still and carried the sound of chirping crickets and roaming rodents. Though the red head enjoyed the calm weather and sunset, it made him contrast the tranquility and warmth with a colder place he is far more familiar with. He remembered the cold that numbed painful thoughts and memories and the way that it enraptured him as a child. A precious memory then filled his mind.

As he reminisced his past, a loud sound in the bushes causes him to snap back to the present and stop in his tracks. The insignificant light that remained illuminates a cloaked silhouette dashing quickly through the trees, apparently not taking notice of him. He turns to follow it, a hunch of its destination forming in his mind.

...

The moon now hangs higher in the sky. The clouds float by, basking in her silver rays as the gentle evening air, soft and warm flows into a bedroom occupied by a slender, golden haired girl. Several furry creatures playfully interact with each other around her on the bed as she sits browsing through some photos. A small bell tinkles as a small kitten in her arms touched it with its paw.

Lux turns from the small stack of photos she was browsing through to the small, curious creature and giggles. She gently strokes the sweet little thing and smiles before setting it down next to her and returning to the papers she had been browsing through. As her eyes fell on the photos on the pages, her smile once again fades. The small kitten that had been interested in the bell around her neck meows, trying to call her from the images again. As if to aid the small kitten, a knock on the door sounds but Lux's eyes remain glued to the photos in her hands.

Kai enters and leans on the adjacent wall, glancing at his animal housemates before resting his eyes on the golden haired girl they surrounded. He takes notice of the stack of photos in her hands and then turns his attention back to her. "You're still looking through those?"

Lux nods in reply as she allows the kitten from before back into her arms. She resumes looking through the photos she had asked Kenny to print out for her. "Its just…I feel as if the girl in these pictures…is me."

"Why's that?"

"I don't know…I just… feel it." Lux replies, looking up from the photos on the page. "And those people in the photo with her…they look familiar…like with Tala."

She places the papers down next to her and wraps her arms gently around the small creature she held. For a while only the sounds of playful interaction between their pets could be heard. Then, Lux spoke.

"Kai?"

Kai replies tacitly.

"If it is me…in these photos…do you think those people...will ever forgive me?" she asks as a teardrop forms. She holds the silently observing kitten in her arms a little closer to her. "They seem to love...the little girl so much…but if I'm that little girl…won't they be sad? I can't remember who any of them are…"

Kai approaches the girl in quiet steps and stretches out a hand to wipe away the teardrop that has started to trickle down her cheeks. She looks up at him.

"If that girl in the picture is you, I don't think the people with her in those photos has ever blamed you and probably never will if its for not remembering them." he assures her.

"But-"

"In those photos," Kai cuts her off. "You look like you loved them just as much as they loved you. They'd probably want you to live out a happy life."

"Really?"

Kai answers her with a nod. A soft meow follows his answer as if to agree with him. The two turn to the small furball in Lux's arms. It reaches up to the bell Lux wore around her neck and a soft tinkle sounds causing another giggle to escape from Lux. Kai watches the two and smile.

She turns back to Kai. "Kai?"

"Hm?"

"Do you think I'll ever remember who they are?"

Kai nods. The encouragement causes Lux's cheeks to become slightly red as she turns back to the kitten and smiles.

Just then, a loud noise that seems to be caused by the breaking of a brittle object fills the halls and catches the attention of the two. Silence followed as they tried to listen for more sounds. Kai noiselessly makes his way to the door and creaks it open just a small bit to check the hall. Lux gets up, sets the small kitten down and makes her way to him.

"Should we go see?" she asks him.

"No, stay here." Kai tells her. He opens the door and takes a step out then stops. He remembers the way someone had came in through the window and slipped a disk into Lux's hands while he went for a glass of water. He turns back to her. "On second thought, come with me."

She nods, a little dazed by his sudden change of mind, but follows him out of the room anyway, leaving the small creatures behind. The kitten that had been in Lux's arms watches them disappear off and then turns to the pictures that were laying on the bed sheets as the other furry creatures resumed playing. It examines them for a moment with its curious golden eyes before growling inimically at them as if they have upset someone it cares about deeply.

A red haired youth in white and orange attire stood next to a broken vase in the hallway with an envelope in his hand as fast footsteps approached him. He turns at the sound of the incoming footsteps to meet two other youths, a two toned haired boy and a golden haired girl. Again, the red haired youth's expression turns a bit melancholic. He diverges his gaze from the golden haired girl.

"Tala?" Lux exclaims. Tala turns to face elsewhere causing her to look at him strangely.

Kai looks around and then turns back to his old teammate. "Why are you here Tala?"

"I was taking a walk and I saw a cloaked figure run by in a hurry so I followed him." Tala explains. "I had a hunch he or she was coming here and it turns out I was right."

Tala holds out the envelope he was holding. "Whoever it was came here to leave you this it seems."

Kai takes it and begins to open it.

"Oh and the vase wasn't my fault." Tala adds. He turns to go but is stopped by a light tug on his sleeve.

"Tala?" a soft voice calls. "Is something the matter?"

"No." he answers without looking at her.

Lux lets go of Tala's sleeve and watches as he leaves. She turns back to Kai, still a little worried about him, but shrugs it off.

"What is it?" she asks him. She pokes her head a little closer to see. "Is it from the same person as before?"

"No, I don't think so." he replies "The hand writing is different."

...

A large cloud floats in front of the silver mistress of the night, obscuring her from view and darkening a spot below it. The trees rustle as the wind blew through them. A large door creeks open and a cloaked figure steps into the dark space. Snoring, game noises and sounds of page turning could be heard. Four pairs of iridescent eyes glowing through the darkness greets this cloaked messenger.

"How did it go?" asks a childlike, male voice from where the gaming noises originate.

"It's delivered." came the reply.

"Good," the august voice then he calls out to the one snoring. "Kull, wake up."

The snoring stops and is replaced by some inaudible mutters. A loud yawn sounds and is followed by a childish female voice. "Yes?"

"You will be our representative the night after tomorrow." the stately voice announces.

"Alright!" she cries, jumping off the wooden crates she had been sleeping on with delight.

...

As her joyous sounds filled the unlit space shared by her and her companions, elsewhere, in a snowy, twilight realm, a lone figure clad in black attire infiltrates a behemoth under ice. He enters through a jagged opening and lands almost soundless on the dimly lit floor. He takes notice of the crimson stained bodies nearby and exits the room to the unlit hallways of the wrecked behemoth. He treads through the darkness steadily, avoiding any corpses that laid in his way and eventually reaches a locked door. Checking and confirming that the computerized system that guarded the room was down, he kicked the door open instead and entered. He turns the lights on manually and scans the room. On a table in the far side of the room laid some objects. He takes careful steps towards them and picks one of the objects up. After examining them, he packs them all into a sack and turns to go. Once outside, he takes one more glace at the ice covered beast and hiked away steadily.


	16. Doubt and Reassurance

**CHAPTER SIXTEEN**

**~ Doubt and Reassurance ~**

* * *

The air, gentle and warm was filled with joyous sounds. Light was still very much abundant and azure still dominated the upper realms. A slender golden haired girl sat on a bench gazing at the scenery in front of her, troubled. Looking up at her from her lap was a small golden-eyed kitten. It reaches up with its paw and caused a soft tinkle to sound. Lux turns to the kitten and smiles, stroking its soft fur.

"You must...really like this bell...don't you?" she says with a smile.

The small kitten meows in response with a smile on its face.

Lux continues. "You're much more...luckier than me…"

The kitten meows and tilts its head as if confused.

"Nobody is after you...no one wants to take you away...from the people you care about…" she trails off, looking up at the white puffs that were being stained slowly with color above her.

The kitten meows again as if to call her attention to it.

Lux returns to the kitten. "I didn't tell you...about the note from last night."

The kitten tilts its head again, looking confused. Seeing this, Lux continues.

"Someone sent...another note last night..." Lux begins to explain, leaning back on the bench and staring at the clouds again. "...it seems that it's all because of me…again."

The kitten looks at Lux with concerned eyes now as it notices her unhappy expression.

"They want to see me tomorrow night…at eight." she goes on. "I think maybe I should go with them...they bother Kai...because I am staying with Kai..."

The kitten shakes its head frantically and meows as if trying to express a "No".

"You don't...think so?" Lux asks, turning back to it. "Still…I must be a lot of trouble for Kai…they always come…because of me… I already owe him a lot… for saving me, housing me, taking care of me… I think he's been very kind to me…I feel like I'm just causing more trouble for him…"

The kitten meows again, worried.

"If I go with them...they might stop bothering Kai..."

"No," a voice tells her before the kitten had a chance to respond.

Lux turns to see a black haired boy with golden eyes clad in mainly white and black.

"Ray!" she exclaims, surprised by his presence.

"Hey," he greets her, chuckling a little. "You finally noticed me."

"How long have you been there?" she asks him as he walks closer.

"Not that long, but I heard enough of what you were saying to the cat." He answers her as he takes a seat next to her and gently pets the cat on her lap.

"Oh…" Lux turns back to the kitten, uncertainty dominating her once again.

"You were an hour late for your lesson today so I called Kai to see if he knows where you are and since he didn't know we decided to go looking for you." Ray explains.

"Ooops..." Lux felt bad now. She kept her eyes down. "I'm sorry...Did I worry you?"

"Well, yeah…" Ray answers her. "I think you worried Kai more than you did me though."

Lux turned to him

"You should've heard him on the phone." Ray chuckles.

"Will he be mad at me?" she asks a little timidly.

"Why?"

"For worrying him…" she replies.

"Nah, I think he's just going to be relieved that you're ok." he tells her.

"Really?"

"Yeah." Ray answers. "By the way, I doubt Kai minds having you around at all."

"Why do you think that?" she asks, curious. "Many people keep bothering him because of me…"

"Well…Kai's not the most expressive and doesn't talk very much, but if he didn't want you around, you would be the first to know." He explains to her while looking at the scenery in front. "Besides, judging from the way he reacted earlier, I'd say he'd rather have you around than not."

"Really?" she asks, her face lighting up a little upon hearing that.

"Yeah" Ray assures her. He gets up and turns back to her, "Now let's go before you worry him even more."

Lux nods happily and picks up the kitten sitting on her lap before getting up as well. As the two left the park, a pair of iridescent, glowing eyes belonging to a cloaked figure with dark purple hair watches them from the shadows. She mutters something angrily and turns to go.

...

In a small while, warm tints of color once again stain the skies as the sun prepares to rest below the horizon. The usual sounds and noises of this time of day fill the air entertaining a youth with red, flowing hair as he walks in the direction of a house up ahead. Walking at a steady speed next to him is a periwinkle haired youth with a bag slumped over his shoulder and a book in one hand. A squirrel pops out from a nearby bush and stops in the two's path to pick up a chestnut on the ground. As the two walks closer to it, it flees in fear.

"Hey Nex…" the youth with spiky periwinkle hair stops and says suddenly.

"Yeah, Tanor?" the red haired youth responds, stopping as well.

"How do you think Ventus is doing?"

Nex chuckles. "How should I know? He's probably still obsessed over that girl…"

Tanor looks up at the warm colors overhead as the wind blows through his spiked hair.

"Why?" Nex inquires.

"It feels like we're not done yet…like there's something more we have to do." Tanor replies.

Nex shrugs and resumes his journey home.

...

Elsewhere, a two toned haired boy and a golden haired girl are heading home as well. It had been a rather tiring afternoon for Kai as he had spent the past two to three hours running around in search of the golden haired girl who is now walking home with him at his side, holding a small, golden eyed kitten in her arms. She was reported missing by his friend and teammate, Ray, earlier on thus provoking a search for her. He had been glad when Ray had found her at the park a little earlier and was relieved when he found out that she had merely lost track of time at the park. He felt an unexplainable urge to embrace her then and there when he saw her but fought against it and remained calm.

Kai glances at the girl next to him. She had been unusually quiet on the way home and seems to have kept her gaze on the kitten in her arms the entire time. He wonders about her unusual behavior; normally the girl is like a walking radio on "la" on the way home.

'Is something bothering her?' Kai wonders. He then realizes what he had just thought. He had known the girl for roughly three weeks only. It was uncharacteristic of him to care. 'But why do I care?'

His thoughts are cut off as the two arrive at the gates of his home. There was mail in his mailbox again and Kai opens it to find its usual contents. Going through all the envelopes, he finds one that was unusual. Like the one in his mail a few days ago, this one too did not seem to have been handled through the post service and just like the last one, it had no return address. He immediately opens it to find another note. The note was written in the same childish handwriting and was slanted in the same awkward manner. It read,

"Kai, I have left you and Lux a present in the fridge. I hope it will prove useful. Though more than a month and a half late, tell Lux I wish her a happy birthday and that I regret not being able to wish her such any earlier.

-No one."

Noticing his actions, Lux takes a look at the note and reads it. Then she turns to Kai. Kai turns from the note to her.

"Do you think this person…might be the same as the one who gave me the disk with the pictures?"

Kai nods.

"I wonder who this person is…maybe he or she can help me get my memories back…"


	17. A Dream Given

**CHAPTER SEVENTEEN**

**~ A Dream Given ~**

* * *

In a realm stained in oranges and golden tones, a dark bird glides above a old European town and takes its perch on a tiled roof. The small creature gazes down and watches curiously as a lone, youth with light blond hair clad in a black leather coat treads steadily down the dusty street below. The wind blows, playing through his short, spiky hair but he does not mind and only continues down the stone paved path. He stops at an alleyway and turns to face it before entering it in silent steps. The dust behind him rises as he vanishes into its darkness.

The alleyway eventually is intersected by another and situated at the intersection is a few wooden crates. A figure, draped from head to toe in purple sits atop the highest crate and as the young man approaches, he turns to face him.

"You've returned to me once again, young man." the draped figure says through the layers of purple cloth. "Do you seek another favor?"

"I do." The young man answers simply.

"Well first, Ventus," says the voice beneath the cloaks. "Just out of curiosity, why do you persist in having me send that boy such images?"

"I need pawn." The young man replies simply.

"A pawn?" repeats the draped figure, amused. "Why?"

"Just someone to do my bidding when the time comes." Ventus responds. "Enough questions now, Traumgeber, do me the favor I came for."

Ventus takes out a sack and tosses it to the draped figure. he then turns to exit the alley.

...

The wind dances free and elated, carrying petals of the purest whites and the softest pinks. The green and lush field is florid and full of life. Even the upper realm, consisting of only its endless stretch of azure and fluffy puffs of white, seems delighted as a slender young girl with long, golden hair clad in mostly leathery white and silky pink attire dances and sings in a similar manner to those of the beautiful creatures of fairytales and myths. A pair of purple eyes belonging to a two toned blue haired boy follows her movements, enchanted by her unseen wings of pure white. He takes a step forward to try to approach her and as he does, the ethereal scenery melts into an infernal tempest. The azure of the upper realms vanished and in its place was a darkness blacker than pitch. The fluffy white puffs were gone as well, replaced by smoke streaming up into the dark infinity. Below, the florid field became crimson and dreadful as the wind, so free and colorless before has been set aground and heated.

The two toned haired boy searches this new heated setting for the girl that had been dancing amidst the dreamlike scenery. He finds her, but standing behind her, tall and august is an ashen figure clad in dark attire. A large wing, scaly and dark, jutted out from one side of the livid demon's head and his eyes held the same iridescent glow as the one present in the eyes of the golden haired girl. The lips of this demon curl into an insane and cruel grin as a blade, sharp and coated with luster glints in his hand. The two toned haired boy watches in horror as the one winged demon moved like a tiger. He tries to run toward the golden haired maiden to save her but seems to be held back by a strange sluggishness. As the sound of a blade piercing flesh echoes in the darkened world, the iridescent, heterochromatic eyes of the golden haired girl widens and then becomes relaxed. The boy, now at her side, picks her up into his arms and calls her name but all that comes as a response from the girl is a soft whisper and flowing lukewarm tears as the life in her eyes slowly fade. Tears flow down this boy's cheeks too now. The demon looks down at the two and bursts into a piercing laughter. The sound echoes into the darkness and eventually breaks it.

Kai bolts up in bed, covered in his own sweat. The frightening laughter still rings in his mind, haunting him and sending fear throughout his entire body. This fear was not for himself either, but for the girl who has somehow slowly grown important to him. The impulse to assure that she was alright and that the dream was not real in any way coursed through him. He quickly gets out of bed and dashes out of his room and down the hall to the room where he expects or hopes to find her. When he arrives at her bedroom, he opens the door and enters. He quickly glances around the room searching for the girl but she was nowhere to be found. The laughter then repeats itself in his mind, causing him to grow even more afraid. He runs out of the room without closing the door of her bedroom and heads off to check other locations where she may be.

...

Meanwhile, a golden haired girl puts on an apron in a room well equipped with a variety of cooking utensils. The light of the rising sun creeps slowly into the room, brightening it. Lux opens the fridge and takes out some eggs, setting them on the table. She makes sure to close the fridge quickly to conserve energy as her friend and culinary mentor, Ray, had instructed and returns to the eggs. Realizing she needs a container to beat them in as well as something to beat them with, she turns to look for such items and finds what she is looking for quickly. She takes a bowl and an eggbeater back to the table where the eggs are. She then breaks the eggs into the bowl and begins to beat them, adding a little bit of water to make it smoother. When it appears mixed enough, she adds some salt and peppers and sets the mixture back down on the table to get a pan. As she reaches for a pan, a two toned haired boy bursts into the kitchen panting heavily.

"Kai?" Lux turns to him, his disheveled appearance immediately causing her concern.

Kai begins to calm down and makes his way towards her. As he does, she notices that he is covered in sweat and seems quite exhausted. She knew not what happened but she did know that the wet substance is uncomfortable to have on one's body.

"I'll get you a towel." she tells him before heading for the door.

As she moves pass him, she is stopped by a strong grip on her wrist. She turns back, confused.

"Kai?"

Without warning, he pulls her into his arms and holds her as close as he can to him. He can feel her delicate form grow tense from his sudden actions and he can smell the sweet scent of her hair as he closes his eyes. Her very presence alleviates the anxiety in his heart and assures him that the dream had not been real.

"Kai…" she calls softly to him. She could feel his heartbeat slow steadily to a more casual pace. "Are you...okay?"

"Stay here…don't go anywhere…just stay here…" he tells her.

Lux nods slightly and places her hands on his back gently. She wonders what it was that had bothered him so much and why he is holding her like this. More importantly, however, she wants to make him feel better. Since staying still and letting him hold her seems enough, she decides to let him hold her for however long he wishes.

...

A youth baring light blond hair in black leathery attire sits atop a tall tree overlooking a small clearing that used to serve as a home to a family of cats. His eyes are fixed on the brightening heavens and in his hand is a decorated cellphone. The small object gleams in the morning light and as the youth turns to it and the photo it displayed, his eyes twitch as if irritated. He closes the cellphone and puts it away before taking off the pair of contact lenses he wore and rubbing his eyes gently. He reaches into the pocket of his coat to pull out a small container and opens it to place his contacts into it. He puts the container back into his pocket and looks back up to the heavens. The iridescent glow in his eyes is now noticeable but he closes them in hopes of being granted a well deserved rest.


	18. The Princess and the Witch

**Sorry this one took a while. I've been a little busy lately. Anyways, Enjoy and thanks for the support!**

* * *

**CHAPTER EIGHTEEN**

**~ The Princess and the Witch ~**

* * *

Gray masses in gas form gather high above a darkened world and seem ready to condense. A single lamp stands amidst a park below illuminating some teenagers. Two girls sit on a bench encircled by the others nearby. A clock that stands close to them reads five minutes to eight in the dim light. A pair of iridescently glowing heterochromatic eyes watches this clock with worry.

It is now close to the time indicated by the note Kai and Lux had received two days ago. Though the note was only for the two of them, its contents had apparently gotten out and quite swiftly. Waiting along with Lux and Kai for the sender of the note to arrive was Ray, Max, Tyson, Hilary, Kenny and Daichi. It would seem after Ray had gotten word of the appointment when accidentally eavesdropping on Lux's conversation with her pet in the park, he decided that it would be best to inform the rest of his team so that Kai and Lux might not be alone in facing this new foe whom they knew so little about. Since neither Lux nor Kai had much against the idea, the entire team decided to come along.

Lux turns from the clock to the gun-shaped launcher in her hand. It was much like the one she had with her since her first memory with the difference of this one reading "Synchro" instead of "Extend". Lux had wondered who the sender was. Whoever it was seem to know her and according to Kai, it may well have been the same person who sent her the images as well. Kenny had also examined the launcher earlier and determined that no bitbeast fragment existed in it, but instead the launcher is at least several times more powerful than the one Lux had been using.

A small drop lands on the launcher in Lux's hands causing the golden haired girl to look up. It would seem that the weather forecast from earlier had been right and soon they may well be caught in a storm. She turns back to the clock. It now reads seven fifty nine. There is now only one more minute left until the given time of the meeting.

"Argh! Where are they!" Tyson bursts out from impatience.

"There's still one more minute left, Tyson, so just wait." Kenny tells him.

"But it is only one more minute and there's still no sign of anyone here but us." Max joins in.

"Yeah and I'm starting to feel hungry again." Daichi whines.

"You can't be serious, you ate half of my share at dinner!" Tyson says with crossed arms.

"Yeah well, I'm a growing boy!" Daichi retorts.

"Just wait, guys." Ray speaks up. "That note only said to be here by eight, not that they'll arrive here by eight. Besides, there's still a minute to go."

"Well alright…" Tyson agrees reluctantly.

Hilary turns to the girl next to her. "Lux, is something the matter?"

Lux turns from the clock to Hilary. Putting on her best smile, she tells her, "No, nothing's the matter...I was just-"

"Well, well, well…" says a high pitched voice from far away. "Seems likes Wyvynn forgot to mention the words 'come alone' in the note."

The eight of them turn to the place where the voice seem to originate to see a small girl clad in a black cloak. Beneath the cloak, dark, ragged clothing were visible in the dim light. The girl wore her dark purple hair in two bunches that spiked out and seems quite unhappy to see Lux's companions yet quite happy to see Lux. Her most unusual feature appears to be the iridescent glow in her eyes. Though similar to that of Lux's, they were much more unstable.

The unfamiliar girl approaches the group of teenagers calmly, a smirk forming on her face. She stops in front of Lux and holds out a hand to stroke her cheek.

"What a pretty face!" she squeals. "I'm so happy to finally see you, I'm sure we'll get along well."

Lux looks at the dark purple haired girl confused. "Who are you...?"

The dark purple haired girl pulls back. She seems rather taken aback by the question. "Oh my, I almost forgot to introduce myself, how rude of me!"

She straightens herself up with much effort and then turns back to Lux.

"I'm Kull, the Witch." she states.

"Witch?" Hilary repeats.

"You're joking right?" Tyson says trying to hold some laughter back.

Kull sends him a glare but returns her attention to Lux. Her expression softens as she stares at Lux. She continues this for a while, making Lux wonder what exactly she was staring at. She leans closer causing Lux to lean back. The others watch unsure what Kull is trying to do. Then, without warning, Kull threw her arms around Lux, surprising her and causing her quite some discomfort with her strong grip and loud squealing.

"So cute!" she squeals, holding the girl in her arms as close as she can to herself. When she finally notices how uncomfortable Lux was and that she was in fact struggling to push her off, she lets go confused.

"That's enough." Kai steps up between the confused child and Lux. "Why did you want to see Lux and what do you want?"

Kull glowers at Kai. Then she takes a step back.

"Fine, I'll tell you." she says. "I came to bring Lux back with me."

"So you cloaked freaks are still at that?" Kai asks.

"I don't know what you mean by 'still' but Lux belongs with me and my brothers." she says in a childishly firm way. "Afterall, she's the Princess and we need her."

This catches Lux's attention. "Princess...?"

"Yup, that's right." Kull says. "You are the Princess that completes us."

"I do not...understand." Lux tells her.

"We need you." Kull replies. "Without you, my brothers and I can't grant Lady Psyche her wish or any of our own wishes at all."

"Grant your wishes?" Hilary repeats, confused. "Huh?"

"Oh wait, I wasn't suppose to say that!" Kull mutters to herself. Then she turns back to Lux and her friends, impatient. "Now will you come with me or not? I can't say more here!"

"I don't want to…" Lux says, a little creeped out by the strange girl.

"But you have to!" Kull exclaims. "If you don't come…if you don't-"

"Forget it!" Tyson shouts, annoyed. "Lux isn't going anywhere with a freak like you. I don't know what you mean with the witches and princesses and stuff but we're not gonna listen to your bogus nonsense and let her go with you, so give it up."

"Yeah." Max steps up. "We don't even know you and besides, if Lux said no, then it's a no!"

"Who asked you!" Kull bursts out angrily. She then stomps past Kai to Lux. Her eyes grew melodramatically teary as she tries to beg Lux. "Come on Lux, you don't mean that right? You have to come, I can't bring myself to…to…oh, I can't say it!"

"Can't say what?" Daichi asks.

Kull turns to Daichi with angrily. Then she shouts at him through her tears, "NOBODY ASKED YOU!"

"Kull," Ray approaches her as she turns back to Lux. "Why don't you tell us what you mean by all those things?"

Kull turns to him angry and teary as well. "No, I can't! I said too much already and big brother will be mad!"

"Kull…" Lux says. "Maybe this…"

Kull snaps her attention back to Lux.

"If I go with you just to grant your wishes...you will let me come back to my friends...as soon as I grant you your wishes?" Lux asks.

"It doesn't work that way…" Kull sobs. She then falls to her knees and cries on Lux's lap.

"Why not?" asks Hilary.

"Noone asked you, you ugly hag!" Kull sobs.

"Who are you calling an ugly hag!" Hilary yells.

"But why not?" asks Lux, returning to the subject.

"I can't tell you!" Kull sobs. "But if you don't come willingly, I'll have to kill you and bring you back dead even if I don't wanna-"

At this, Kai jerks around and pulls Kull off of Lux and throws her as far from Lux as he could.

"Hey, what was that for!" Kull screams as she sits up.

Kai steps in front of Lux as if to bar Kull from her. "Stay away from her."

"Why!" Kull demands.

"Hey Kull, was the thing about you having to kill Lux what you couldn't say before?" Daichi asks, having suddenly thought of it.

"Uh…" Kull sat still realizing what she had just blurted out without thought.

"Kull…" Lux calls to her from behind Kai, causing the small girl to return her attention to her. "I don't think I can help you...if it means...I'll have to say goodbye to all my friends forever…I'm sorry."

"Fine, then…" she mutters. Kull gets up silently. She brushes the dirt off her without looking up from the ground. Then, she snaps her head up to face them. "I guess you left me no choice. Well, too bad!"

Lux watches Kull pull out a gun shaped launcher extremely similar to her old one. As Kull loaded her blade onto it, she recalls the way Nex and Tanor had done that and aimed their blades at the ones they were intending to hurt.

"It's too bad you don't wanna come…" Kull says. "I would have liked it much better if you had picked otherwise."

Kull gets ready to pull the trigger. Noticing this, as if by instinct, Lux quickly takes out her blade and loads it onto her launcher and launches her blade as Kull shoots her blade at her. The move surprised not only the people around Lux but Lux herself as well. She watches as the two blades collide in midair, creating a huge shockwave before falling onto the ground.

Lux regains her composure quickly and gets up from the bench and stands next to Kai. She had previously felt a little sorry for having to disappoint Kull but after seeing Kull launch her blade at her, that feeling disappeared.

"I'm sorry. I won't come with you." Lux states firmly.

"Well I'm not giving you a choice anymore!" Kull screams, sending her blade at Lux again.

Lux watches the blade fly in her direction and closes her eyes, bracing for the impact. The voices of her friends shouting her name in concern reaches her ears as she expects pain to flow through her body. She is surprised when the impact doesn't come. Instead, the sound of beyblades clashing was audible and a strong shockwave could be felt. Lux opens her eyes to see three blades locked in midair.

"Stay out of this!" Kull shouts to Kai as the three blades return to the ground.

"Not if you intend to hurt Lux." Kai answers.

"We need her to have our wishes granted!"

Kull sends her blade at Lux again but is blocked for a third time by Kai who had been watching Kull's blade. While the two blades are in midair, Kai takes this chance to attack Kull's blade, causing some minor damage to it. Kull winces in pain and grabs her right arm. It would seem the attack somehow hurt Kull too.

"Guys, it's almost the same strange reading from before!" Kenny shouts, catching the attention of them all.

"Really, Chief?" Tyson asks.

"Yeah, its from Kull's blade." Kenny answers. "But I can't tell for sure what it is. The reading is very similar to the one we got from Lux before but with minor differences."

"If those readings you're getting are what I think you're getting, then of course they're similar." Kull says.

"What do you mean?" asks Ray.

"You don't need to know that." Kull states, sending her blade at Lux swiftly.

Though Lux did not have enough time to react to the attack with her blade, her blade blocks the attack for her again. It would seem the blade either has a mind of its own or it's reading Lux's mind.

Hilary watches as Kull winces again. "Why does it look like she's in pain?"

"You're right," Max remarks. "But why…?"

Kull tries again to attack, but instead this time, she aims for Lux and Kai's blades. She had made up her mind that it would be impossible to attack Lux if she left Lux and Kai's blades spinning. She tries first to take out Kai's blade but is blocked by Lux who also counters her. She tries the same thing on Lux's blade only to receive a surprise attack from Kai's Dranzer. Seeing that it would be impossible to take the two out with only one blade, Kull takes out a normal launcher and launches a second blade.

"There we go," she mutters.

Kull sends her second blade after Dranzer while she focuses her first on Elfe. She attacks Kai's blade, but misses rather miserably. Kai takes this chance to knock out her second blade and returns to help Lux with Kull's first blade. Seeing this, Kull takes out a bunch of other blades from under her cloak and launches them. Not liking what Kull is doing at all, Tyson takes out his white blade, Dragoon and knocks the extras out.

"Hey!" he calls to Kull. "Since when is ten against two or aiming for the blader considered fair?"

"Why won't you non factors just stay out of this!" Kull yells in frustration. She pulls more blades out from the inside of her cloak and launches them all desperately without aiming. Her first blade, apparently the only one with any real power, also starts to go berserk. The blades fly here and there, damaging everything in their path and ricocheting off what they can not cut through.

Hilary ducks as a blade flies towards her. "Oh, what is wrong with this girl!"

"Yeah," Max agrees, dodging an incoming blade.

Kai turns to see a blade flying towards Lux from behind her and pushes her out of the way, sending both of them onto the ground.

"Are you ok?" he asks her.

Lux nods. The two of them turn to see an incoming blade and ducks.

"Hey this really sucks!" Daichi complains as he takes a step back to evade a blade flying in his direction.

"No kidding." Kenny remarks holding onto his laptop tightly and rolling out of the way of yet another uncontrolled blade. "Dizzi! Help us!"

"Sorry, but I'm still stuck inside a laptop." the computerized voice says.

Ray dodges the blades with ease. He then turns to Kull and watches as her first blade flew in her direction from behind her.

"Kull, watch out!" he calls to her.

Kull turns to him, unsure of what he's indicating. As she did, an overwhelming pain flows through her and causes her to scream loudly. Ray watches as she falls to the ground.

The other seven teenagers turn to the fallen girl and watch as a pool of crimson spread beneath her. The blades that were previously spinning out of control calm down as well and eventually slow to a stop. A small drop falls from the heavens and lands on the ground, followed by many more. A pair of blueish iridescent eyes belonging to a youth with light blond hair sitting atop a tree watches the scene from a safe distance. He jumps down from the tree, soundlessly and disappears into the night.

"Looks like my present proved useful enough."


	19. Return of an Old Rival

**Hey guys, sorry for the wait! I might put up character profiles for the O.C.s early so check my profile from time to time. A thank you to all who have been supporting/reviewing/following along.**

* * *

**CHAPTER NINETEEN**

**~ Return of an Old Rival ~**

* * *

The wind howls as the clouds part to reveal the silver orb floating high above a tattered warehouse. Her beams illuminate an august creature sitting atop the roof of that warehouse. One wing juts out from a side of his head and its scales gleam in the dim light of the moon as the movement of air causes it to flap slightly. The demonic being watches as a small cloaked figure runs towards the warehouse dragging a bundle wrapped in a dark cloak. A few moments later, a loud noise caused by the sudden opening of the warehouse doors fills the air.

"I'm back!" a childish voice greets from the door.

A pair of iridescent, glowing eyes opens half way in an unlit corner of the dark space and a pair of iridescent, glowing eyes belonging to a young man sitting atop a scarcely illuminated crate turns to the childish boy.

"You got her?" the youth from atop the crate asks casually.

"Yup," replies the young boy. He drags a wrapped bundle into view to show the youth on the crate. "She's not in good condition though…"

"That doesn't matter." the voice from the unlit corner says.

"She was a good joke…" the youth atop the crate chuckles.

The small boy snickers. "So what do we do with her?"

"Don't ask me, how would I know." the youth atop the crate says as he turns a page of his magazine.

"Where's Lok?" the young boy asks.

In a few moments, a loud thump sounds in reply to his question. The boy turns to the highest crate in the warehouse to see a figure standing tall on the crate under the opening in the roof. The wind plays carefully with the creature's lopsided platinum hair and falls still when the creature folds its rough wing.

"I find...

My quest is opposed.

A kingdom there exists,

Two knights

Savoring the contemporary.

Enemies declared,

My armies engage."

The one called Lok stops reciting and turns to the one reading a magazine. He calls to him an an authoritative tone, "Wyvynn."

The youth atop the crate turns to him. "Yeah, big bro?"

"Take Kull to the altar."

"You got it." Wyvynn says, closing the magazine he was reading.

He jumps off the crate and throws the magazine in his hands behind him. He then makes his way to the small boy in an arrogant manner and takes the bundle from him. He slings it over his shoulder with one hand and strides out. The small boy watches as he disappeared off and then turns to the one winged humanoid.

"Hey," the boy calls to him.

"Hm?" the pale creature answers.

"I'm gonna go for some entertainment." the boy says. "That ok?"

"Do what you want." he tells him as he spreads his wing and leaps back up through the opening in the roof.

"Ciao then." the boy says as he turns to go.

The pair of iridescent glowing eyes in the unlit corner opens fully as the boy leaves. Its owner stands up and leaps over the many crates between him and the door. He turns back to the opening in the roof one last time.

"I'm going out too."

...

The sounds of the night eventually fade and the light that nurtures life returns. Soft chirping fills the warm air of late May but all of it is ignored and unheard inside a well lit dojo. A two toned blue haired boy leans against a wall in the dojo listening to two of his teammates quarrel over trivial matters as a brown haired girl scolds them and tries to quiet them down. A small brown haired boy tries to work on something on his laptop but gives up due to his inability to concentrate in the noisy environment. Watching them with uneasy eyes is a blond haired boy and a black haired boy.

On the roof of the dojo above these seven youths unaffected by the quarreling below is a slender, golden haired girl happily twirling with great balance as some birds fly past her and greet her.

"For the last time, Daichi, quit eating all the snacks in the house and leave some for other people!" Tyson yells.

"But I'm hungry and besides, grandpa said it's ok!" Daichi returns.

"So what!" Tyson exclaims. "That doesn't mean everyone else doesn't need to eat!"

"Can you two please give it a rest; you've been at this so many times already!" Hilary screams.

"NO!" they yell back to her in unison.

"Not until Daichi learns to share!"

"What's that suppose to mean, Tyson, like you ever share!" Daichi screams. "You always hogged the camera during the tournament last year!"

"Excuse me for having fans!"

"Oh yeah?"

"Guys!" Ray yells over them.

Tyson and Daichi turn to him.

"Anyone know where Lux went?" he asks.

"Hey, you're right, she's not here." Tyson mutters.

"You would've noticed earlier if you weren't fighting so much…" Hilary mouths to no one in particular.

"He started it!" Tyson retorts.

"What was that!" Daichi yells back.

"Stop it guys!" Max stands in front of the two. "We should go find Lux. Who knows what kind of trouble she can get into if we leave her alone for too long."

"Yeah, especially since she learned to cross the road by herself not that long ago…" Hilary adds.

"Hey wait, then how come Tyson only yells at me about stuff?" Daichi asks.

"That's obvious, at least she doesn't go around cleaning out other people's fridge or using other people's toothbrushes." Tyson mutters.

Kai gets off the wall and makes his way to the door as Tyson and Daichi resumes arguing.

"Kai?" Ray calls as Kai walks out the door. He then turns back to the others. "Let's go look for Lux."

The others, with the exception of Tyson and Daichi who were still arguing, nod and follow Ray outside. Tyson and Daichi, noticing the sudden absence of their friends in the room exit the room as well. As the seven of them leaves the room and steps out, an innocent giggle that seemed oblivious to all things unpleasant in the world reaches their ears. They turn to the source atop the roof of the dojo to find the golden haired girl they seek standing on the beam where the two tiled sides of the roof join and their eyes widen with fear for her.

"How did she get up there?" asks Hilary.

"Yeah…" Max mouths, a little amazed as well.

"Hey Lux!" Tyson yells.

Lux turns from the bird perched on her hand to her friends below.

"Oh, hello everyone," she greets. They seem to have barely heard her.

"Lux, come down!" Hilary shouts. "It's dangerous up there."

"Dangerous?" Lux repeats, not sure what Hilary meant.

"Come down from there, Lux!" Max shouts. "You could fall off!"

"But I haven't played with the birds for so long…" Lux protests.

"What?" Tyson shouts to her.

"I wanna play with the birds!" Lux repeats a little louder, leaning forward a bit as well so that they could hear her better.

As she did so, she lost her balance for a second and tumbled down the roof, letting out a soft yelp. Seeing this, Kai quickly rushes past the others to catch her. Luckily for Lux, Kai succeeds in catching her but the momentum of her fall sends the two of them crashing to the ground.

Lux opens her eyes and pushes herself up. She hadn't thought that it would be possible to fall off before, nor did it occur to her that falling from the roof could be dangerous. She looks down below her to find Kai staring at her, apparently waiting for her to remove herself from him. Lux looks back up to see that her friends have gathered around them.

"Are you two alright?" Ray asks as Lux sits up and gets off Kai.

Lux nods and turns back to Kai as he sits up. Her expression resembled that of a child that had done something bad without meaning to. "I'm sorry…"

Kai rubs some of the dirt off him before getting up and turning to Lux. He had to admit that he was a little annoyed by the whole thing but how could he blame her when only about two weeks ago, she was still calling paper money paper with pictures and numbers. Besides, she was alright and he was glad for that. He extends a hand to help her up. "Just don't do it again."

"Ok." Lux replies with a nod before taking his hand and pulling herself up, glad that he was not mad at her. As she was about to open her mouth say to something more, a voice from the dojo's front gate interrupts her.

"Hey there, Tyson."

The eight of them turn to the owner of the voice to see a familiar but relatively short boy with red and dark gray hair clad in an outfit with mainly light orange and red. Behind him are three others clad in similar clothing. One of them wore her hair in a ponytail while another, a shorter boy bares green hair. Behind these three stood a broad youth with blondish hair

"Ozuma!" Tyson exclaims. "What are you guys doing here! And long time no see…"


	20. A Folklore Told

**Sorry that I've been busy and can't update semi-weekly like I usually do. Anyways, thanks for the support. Enjoy!**

* * *

**CHAPTER TWENTY**

**~ A Folklore Told ~**

* * *

The dazzling radiance from the sun is eclipsed momentarily as a cloud floats in front of it, obscuring it from view and then revealing it again. A small winged creature soars through the air and over a residential district in the city. Amidst a great many houses in this area lies a fair sized dojo. Eleven of twelve youths sit in a circle inside this dojo. The last one, a two tone blue haired boy, leans against a nearby wall as the others converse.

"So what have you guys been up to?" Tyson asks. "We haven't seen you guys in like two years."

"We've been doing ok," Ozuma replies. "After that tournament, we went back home and told our elders what happened. They were glad but…"

"But what?" asks Hilary.

"It seems a very important item was stolen some ten years ago or so." Ozuma continues. "Our elders only found out while we were out trying to take your bitbeasts."

"Whoever took it did a pretty good job cleaning up their mess, too." Joseph adds.

"That's why we didn't notice it was gone all these years." Dunga explains.

"What kind of item is it?" Max asks, a little curious as to what that item might be.

"It's a small gemstone." Ozuma replies.

"Is it important?" asks Hilary.

"Very." He replies. "Our ancestors sealed an evil bitbeast into it a long time ago."

"An evil bitbeast!" exclaims several voices.

"Yeah but you guys don't have to worry about it, we're the ones responsible for getting it back." Joseph tells them. Then he turns to Daichi and Lux. "By the way, who are the new faces?"

"Oh that's right, you guys haven't met before." Tyson realizes. "That's Daichi and Lux. Daichi was my partner in last year's world championships and Lux…well…Kai saved her from some freak a while ago. She's been our friend ever since."

"I see," Ozuma turns to Daichi and then to Lux. "Nice to meet you two. I'm Ozuma and these guys next to me are my teammates – Mariam, Joseph and Dunga."

"Hello." Lux says in a soft voice.

"Hey," Daichi greets through a mouthful of chips. His muffled greeting caught Tyson's attention.

"Daichi! So that's why you've been so quiet," Tyson tries to take the bag of chips from him. "You're eating my snacks again!"

"It's not like it has your name on it, Tyson!" Daichi retorts, scrambling away from Tyson and heading outside.

"Hey, get back here!" Tyson yells after the small boy as he starts to run after him. "Daichi!"

As the two of them disappear off, the remaining ten turn back to each other.

"So about that gemstone that got stolen," Ray starts. "How are you guys doing with finding it?"

"No luck so far." Ozuma answers him. "We haven't found any traces of it yet."

"Actually we're not even sure if it's a gemstone we're looking for." Joseph tells him.

"Why's that?" asks Max.

"You see, since it was stolen like ten years ago, chances are whoever stole it already extracted the bitbeast from it." Mariam explains. "Of course, we hope that's not the case."

"I see," Max says. "Well, maybe you guys can tell us what that bitbeast is like and we can help keep an eye out for it."

"Sure, I don't see why not." Ozuma replies. "It's a pretty special bitbeast though."

"What do you mean by special?" Kenny inquires.

"Legend has it that it used to be human." Joseph tells him.

"It used to be human!" Ray responds, shocked.

"Well, the story goes like this…" Ozuma starts. "Long ago, there was once an accomplished philosopher in the western lands by the name Cupidon who was young and had a passion. He wanted to uncover the secrets of the human soul and so began to study it. When his twin brother, Cupide found out and offered to help him, he accepted the help, not knowing that Cupide really only wants to do it so he can claim the credit for himself."

"Then what?" Hilary urges on.

"One night, Cupide accidentally extracted the soul of a young woman by the name Lenore while experimenting without his brother's permission." Ozuma continues. "Turns out, the young woman was actually Cupidon's lover and when Cupidon found out about what happened, it was too late to reverse the process."

"That's terrible." Ray comments.

"After that, Cupidon never returned to his studies again. He felt that he was responsible for what happened to Lenore and left his studies to wander the world. It's said that sometime later, he met a strange raven and turned insane after talking to it."

"But what does the bitbeast you guys are looking for have to do with this story?" Kenny asks.

"Well the bitbeast is Lenore." Mariam replies.

"You see, when she found out that she could no longer return to her body and be a normal human being, she began to hate Cupide for what he did to her." Ozuma further explains. "But it didn't stop there. Overtime, she grew lonely wandering by herself and in her loneliness she began to hate everything. Using this hatred as power, she changed herself into a bitbeast and took on a new name. Under that name, she tried to wreck havoc upon the world. That's when someone came to our clan to ask our ancestors to stop her."

"There's one thing about this bitbeast that no other bitbeast has, too." Joseph adds.

"It has no attack power whatsoever but it also cannot be destroyed or defeated." Mariam says.

"The only way to stop it is to seal it but you can't even do that unless you weaken it with the help of a pair of special bitbeasts." Dunga says.

Kai gets off the wall he was leaning on and comes closer to the rest.

"Ozuma," Kai calls to him. "What was this bitbeast's new name?"

Ozuma turns to him.

"Psyche." He answered.

Upon hearing this, Lux reacts with a start.

"Kull…"

The others turn to her.

"She said…Lady Psyche…" Lux tells them.

...

Elsewhere, a small boy with iridescent glowing eyes in a dark cloak sits on the branch of a dense tree. Gentle rays peek through the green leaves of the tree at this young boy but he shows no care for it. Instead he continues to observe a mansion directly up ahead, as if looking for something or someone. His concentration was so intense, it would seem nothing could disturb it. A young man with light blond hair and blue eyes clad in a sleeveless, black, leather coat treads along the path towards the mansion, catching the youth's attention.

"You might as well come out," the young man tells the small boy. "They're not inside."

Almost silently save for a small rustling of the leaves, the small boy emerges from the tree and lands on his feet. He takes a few steps closer to the young man but stops some ways from him.

"You know, Ventus," the small boy says, slightly amused. "You really are good…"

"…for a failure?" Ventus finishes for him.

"You finished my line for me."

"I did." Ventus goes on. "But I wonder, who really is the failure?"

"What do you mean?" The small boy narrows his eyes.

"I guess your response answers my question."

Ventus begins to walk pass the small boy. He is stopped when the boy stands in front of him to stop him from approaching the mansion further.

"Ventus," the small boy growls. "Tell me what you're doing here. I know you can't be on a job."

"I'm not if you mean from Bizmark." Ventus replies. He ignores the boy and tries to walk pass him again, but is stopped again.

"Answer me, Ventus."

"If I don't?"

"You don't have a choice." the boy states, taking out a white launcher loaded with a blade and pointing it at Ventus. On the launcher reads the word, "Extend".

"So you think just because you are a Magnanima, you are above all others…" Ventus muses. "You amuse me, do you know that?"

"How dare you speak that way to me, you-" the small boy is cut off.

"That's enough, Sparky." a voice calls to him.

"Zane!" the small boy called Sparky searches his surroundings for the owner of the voice. His eyes eventually land on a cloaked figure some ways from the two.

"Don't mess with him." Zane tells him.

"But why?" Sparky turns back to Ventus. "He's only an ordinary human anyways."

"Don't do it." Zane says again.

"Fine." Sparky lowers his launcher. "But you better tell me why afterwards and the reason better be a good one."

Zane nods and turns, gesturing to Sparky that they should go.

"You got lucky this time, Ventus." Sparky growls at the light blond haired youth before leaving with the one called Zane.

Ventus watches as the two disappears from view. He then takes off the contact lenses he wore and cleans them gently before reapplying them to his blueish, iridescently glowing eyes. He walks up to the mansion and stops at the mailbox, slipping in a small envelope before turning to go.

"We, the Magnanimae are only human in the end."


	21. One Wing Coming

**CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE**

**~ One Wing Coming ~**

* * *

The last of the warm, golden tones fade from the heavens as the stars begin to fill the darkening space. Floating visibly in the sky now is the silver, nocturnal mistress. Though far up and unreachable by mortal hands, her beams extend through the glass window of a large mansion and into a well-lit room. Inside this room a two toned blue haired boy leans on a wall near a small table. His purple eyes are set on the golden haired girl in the middle of the room who is happily feeding a family of cats and a dog.

Kai turns to the small table near him. On the table lies an envelope with a folded piece of paper sticking out. He had found this in his mailbox when he was returning home earlier in the late afternoon. The note inside the envelope was scribbled in the same awkward manner as two other notes he had gotten before in the mail. The message this time, however, was not signed. All it said was,

"Kai, beware the one winged King."

A retching noise causes Kai to return his attention to Lux. It would seem the silly girl tried to taste some of the food she was feeding to her pets and discovered it was not as tasty as she thought it was. Kai tries to hold back a chuckle as she runs out of the room, apparently heading for the bathroom to clean her mouth of the taste. He then turns his attention to the five animals as they continue to eat the bits that had fallen on the floor before. Though he enjoys watching them, his mind soon drifts back to the contents of the note.

'What did this person mean by 'beware the one winged King'?' he asks himself in his mind as he turns to the window. 'Does this 'one winged King' have anything to do with that…_thing_ in those dreams that I've been having? Better yet, is that _thing_ real like Lux is?'

The animals in the middle of the room now finished with their meal turn to greet Lux as she returns to the room. Now relieved of the taste of cat food, she returns their greeting with a cheerful smile and sits down amongst them to play with them. All five creatures react with delighted restlessness.

'Who is this person who keeps sending these notes?' Kai continues to ponder on the recent events in his mind. ' And why do I feel afraid of that dream coming true? I haven't even known Lux for that long yet I feel the impulse to protect her when she's in danger…and I've act on it.'

Kai recalls the fear he felt in his heart the last time he saw the dream of Lux and the one winged creature and turns to Lux. 'It felt like something very precious to me might get ripped away…'

"Kai?" a soft voice calls.

Kai snaps from his train of thought and focuses on the golden haired girl in the middle of the room. "Hm?"

"What's wrong?" Lux asks, worried.

"Nothing…" Kai tells her. "It's nothing. Don't… worry about it."

"Okay…" Lux replies softly, still a little worried.

...

In a place where the silver beams of the moon could scarcely reach and light, artificial or natural was not abundant, sounds coming from a handheld gaming console resound loudly. Rapid spamming of buttons can be heard as a small boy engages in a battle with a game character and emerges victorious. Bored with it now that he has won, he sets the gaming console aside and jumps off the crate he had been sitting on. He looks around in the empty darkness before making his way to a different stack of crates. Looking up, he addresses the one sitting atop the stack.

"Hey Zane," the small boy calls.

"Hm?" Zane turns to him.

"Where's Lok?" he asks casually.

"Out looking for the Knight." Zane replies simply.

"That's boring." the boy comments, turning to the opening in the roof.

Zane remains silent, but closes his eyes. The boy goes on, "So Zane,"

"What?" Zane responds without opening his eyes.

"Why did you stop me earlier?" the boy asks.

"You mean with Ventus?" Zane opens his eyes again.

"Who else?" the boy turns back to him.

"I've seen him blade." Zane replies, closing his eyes again.

"Huh?" Sparky looks at Zane through the darkness, confused.

"He's stronger than you." Zane tells him.

"What do you mean?" asks Sparky, now paying full attention to Zane. "He's only an ordinary human right?"

"He might not be." Zane states.

"How could that be?" the small boy asks. "He was the first one to be rejected by Lady Psyche…wasn't he?"

"That might be what it looked like." Zane says, opening his eyes again and turning to Sparky. "But I think he might be a Magnanima."

The small boy's eyes widen in shock. "No way…!"

"Sparky, think about it." Zane descends from the crate he had been sitting on. "Where do you think he gets his power from?"

"Well…" Sparky starts, unsure what to say.

"He was the first to be rejected by Psyche, yet he proves himself too powerful in battle to even be amongst the rejected bunch…" Zane takes some steps closer to Sparky. "…in fact, he proves himself far too capable in general to be classified as what he was classified as."

"Are you saying that…?"

"Yes, Sparky." Zane answers before Sparky finishes. "He may well be the Knight…"

Sparky says nothing, but gazes at Zane.

"I'm 90% sure." Zane turns to the opening in the roof of the warehouse. "Only I can't tell which of the Knights he is…if he is one of them."

A cold wind enters the warehouse and brushes the faces of the two. A few moments later, a creature, livid and pale, bearing one wing drops like a meteor through the opening in the roof. Sparky and Zane watch as the creature folds its wing and stands up. The august creature turns to the two of them. A chilly breeze levitates this creature's platinum hair slightly as he gazes through the darkness at them. His eyes, cold and piercing, glow iridescently and seem to grant him eminence.


	22. Dream into Reality

**I had stuff to take care of this week so this one was finished later than I thought it would be. Anyways, be sure to review. Enjoy and thanks for your support!**

* * *

**CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO**

**~ Dream into Reality ~**

* * *

The lush, green scenery is decorated with blossoms of pure white and soft pinks. The breeze, warm and gentle is saturated with pleasant, florid scents. Fluffy puffs float by above, occasionally casting its weak shadow upon the bright scenery. The sun shines brilliantly above all this as if smiling upon the beautiful landscape below. A slender, young girl dances amidst a bright field, her soft, delighted voice filling the sweet, spring air.

A pair of cold iridescent eyes watches the entrancing sight from some distance away. Its owner's stone like feet shuffle through the grass and flowers, trampling over them to approach the sprite like being as she twirls and sings in unrivaled bliss.

A red headed youth sits upon a sturdy branch of a tree not very far away. He bites into an apple and looks up. Finding nothing interesting to look at in the sky, he redirects his gaze elsewhere and catches sight of an august demon bearing a large, scaly wing on one side of his head at a fair distance away. Recognizing the creature, he descends from the tree and slips behind it to hide himself from the creature's view.

"Hey Nex-" a voice belonging to a spiky periwinkle haired youth laying on the ground starts.

"Shhh!" the red head shushes. Then he whispers to the youth, "Quiet, Tanor. Its _him_."

Tanor's eyes widen and he immediately gets up from his spot on the ground to join Nex behind the tree. The two of them watch as the pale demon moves steadily closer to the golden haired sprite.

Lux twirls melodiously in the fields, occasionally greeting the birds and butterflies that fly by. Round and round she twirls, her giggles audible to all fauna around her. Suddenly, she feels herself bumping into someone and turns around. She finds herself facing the chest of an ashen skinned creature clad in a long, dark, sleeveless attire. Gray straps line his chest, arms and legs, each about an inch in width and fastened with a buckle of silver. Lux looks up to see the creature's pale face. The sight of his dreadful face causes her to shiver. She takes a step back, frightened by the physical appearance of the demonic creature.

The demon chuckles as he watches her back away. "It's alright, you do not need to be afraid."

Lux watches still scared as he takes a step closer to her.

"I'm not here to harm you." He tells her. "Rather, I'm here to…"

From behind the tree a good distance away, Nex and Tanor try to make out the contents of the conversation between the platinum haired creature and the golden haired girl. They watch as Lux slowly becomes less afraid of the platinum haired demon. She seems to be inquiring about something but the two are unable to hear her. The demon then answers her and takes a step closer towards her, his gestures seem to indicate he is proposing something to her. The red haired youth with orange eyes turns to the spiky periwinkle haired youth with cerulean eyes.

"Can you make out what they're saying?" Nex whispers to Tanor.

"No," Tanor whispers back.

"All I could hear was Lux asking something about Kai and that's it." Nex whispers. "What do you think that freak's up to?"

"I don't know…" Tanor replies. "But whatever it is, I doubt its good…"

The two of them return their attention to Lux and the one winged creature. Although they are unable to hear the conversation from where they are, they can tell that Lux is now uncertain of something. They watch as the demon extends a hand towards her while saying something to her, apparently in an attempt to convince her of whatever it was he proposed before. She hesitates but eventually takes the hand. He then begins to lead her away.

"Nex…" Tanor calls in a low voice.

"Yeah?" Nex turns from the two in the distance.

"Let's go." Tanor steps out from the tree.

"Go where?" Nex asks, puzzled.

"To Kai's place." Tanor answers while jumping over the bushes.

"Huh?" Nex looks at his companion confused. "Why?"

"Ventus made us realize how pointless it was to serve Bizmark." Tanor explains to him while moving forward. "I just think we're not the only ones who deserve to live a normal life and be with those we wanna be with. Lux isn't so different from us. She might be a ditzy airhead but if Kai or those goofballs she hangs out with were ripped from her, she wouldn't feel too different than you did when you lost Xen and Remphy. Don't you think?"

"Well…" Nex returns his gaze to the two as they fade into the distance. "I guess so…I never thought about it before…about that…or anything."

Tanor stops and turns back to Nex as he gets out from behind the tree and watches him hop over the bushes.

"I remember I used to only think about getting our assignments done…and that was it." Nex goes on, tossing his half eaten apple aside. "But now, it just makes me wonder why I was so stupid before. I could have left Bizmark a long time ago."

Tanor continues to watch Nex as he catches up to him.

What?" Nex looks back at him strangely, having felt Tanor's gaze. "Don't waste time staring at me, let's go!"

Tanor chuckles before taking off. "Alright then, last one to Kai's place is a rotten egg!"

"Say what?" Nex shouts before running after him. "Wait up, Tanor!"

...

The ocean breeze carries the sound of a blue beyblade spinning in a zigzag between empty soda cans lined up on the beach. Seagulls fly here and there as this blade spins, occasionally diving into the waters to catch their prey. On the edge of the water is a two toned blue haired boy watching his blade knock the cans into the air and slicing through them. The sliced up cans land nicely in a stack as Kai catches his blade and examines his work. Not quite satisfied, Kai loads his blade onto his launcher and positions himself for another launch.

Kai had been feeling uneasy ever since the note regarding the one winged creature. He could not help but feel that the "one winged King" mentioned in the note was the creature with one wing he kept seeing in his dreams. Though it seems unlikely such a creature can exist, other creatures seemingly real only in the realm of myths and fairytales have proven themselves real before and this one may be of no exception.

Kai launches his blade toward the stack of cans. To his surprise, a white blade meets his blue one and the two blades then return to their owner's hand. Kai turns in the direction from where the white blade came. His eyes settle on a familiar red haired Russian clad in orange and white.

"Tala…" Kai mutters.

"Hey there, Kai." Tala greets.

"What are you doing here?" Kai asks.

"Just came by for a walk." Tala answers. "Bryan, Spencer and I have decided to return to Russia now that those goons seem to have forgotten about us. We're leaving in a week."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah," Tala turns to go. Then he stops and turns back around. "By the way…"

Kai answers him tacitly.

"How's…Lux?" Tala asks him in a slightly melancholic tone.

"She's fine." Kai answers him. "Why?"

"Just wondering." Tala answers. "She used to be helpless and gullible…"

"Used to be?" Kai repeats, narrowing his eyes a little.

"Nevermind…" Tala turns to go.

"Wait." Kai calls after him.

Tala stops. Kai makes his way towards his former teammate.

"What do you mean by 'used to be'?" Kai asks as he approaches the red head. "Is there something that you know about Lux?"

Tala remains silent but Kai presses on as he steps in front of him, "Well?"

Tala sighs. "Yeah, I do know something about her. I knew her…before she was taken away anyways…"

Kai watches Tala's expression for a moment.

"Long story short, I'm the reason she's the way she is today." Tala tells him before turning to go.

Kai watches as his former teammate leaves, wondering what he could have meant by what he said. Then he remembers the note and the fact that Lux may soon be in danger and returns to his training.

...

Unknown to him, the very person he is striving to protect at this moment follows a one winged creature through a door into a dark empty space. The door closes behind them and Lux looks around. Three pairs of iridescent, glowing eyes greet her through the darkness.

"She's cute." a muffled voice coming from above a crate comments.

Lux turns to the one winged creature. "Who are they?"

"They are our allies." he tells her, his voice muffled by something as well. "We are…like brethren."

"Brethren?" Lux repeats softly. She can feel her eyelids grow heavy.

"Yes," the one winged creature tells her, a sly grin forming on his face behind the cloth covering his nose and mouth. "They will help us…in _protecting_ you and Kai."

"Really?" Lux asks, her vision blurring. She squints a little, trying to see the one winged demon's face better.

However instead of seeing better, what was visible in the almost lightless place begins to swirl and soon Lux could feel herself loosing her balance. She then begins to wobble causing her to grab onto the coat of the one winged demon beside her in an attempt to stay on her feet. In almost no time at all, she looses her balance as her mind drifts off into a timeless darkness. The one winged creature catches her with one arm as she falls, his other arm still covering his nose and mouth. He then turns to the others in the warehouse.

"Go open the doors."

...

A youth with flowing red hair taps his foot impatiently under the moonlight as he waits by the front door of a large mansion. Beside him, a youth with spiky periwinkle hair sits on the steps, gazing at the nightsky. A small butterfly flutters past the red head's face only to narrowly escape being swatted by him like a fly. Irritated by the small thing, he cries out in anger. Having noticed his companion's impatience, the periwinkle haired youth turns to him.

"AAAARRRRGH!" Nex cries. "Where is that idiot at a time like this!"

"Relax, Nex." Tanor chuckles. "Have a little patience, he'll show up sooner or later…"

"Just to make this clear, if anything happens to that girl 'cause he gets here too late, it's not gonna be our fault!" Nex states with his arms crossed.

Tanor bursts out laughing. "It's just like you to say something like this..."

"Oh come on! We've been waiting here all day now." Nex protests. "There's plenty of other things we could be doing!"

"Yes but..." Tanor turns to the moon. "None of them are urgent anyway."

"It's our day off from work!" Nex leans closer to him.

"Not the only day off from work we'll ever have, right?"

"You amaze me…" Nex comments, turning elsewhere.

"Oh look, there he is." Tanor points out.

In the distance is a teenage boy with two toned blue hair whose worn out appearance is barely visible in the dim silvery light. As he comes closer he begins to notice the presence of the two at his door. After trying a little to make out who they are, he quickly recognizes them and looks past them. The lights inside his home were not on. Knowing this meant that Lux was not present, he hurries toward the two at his door.

Kai stops a little ways from them. "What are you two doing here?"

Nex growls. "Could you at least give us a nice greeting after we wasted our day here waiting for you?"

"Huh..?"

Tanor gets up and takes a few steps towards Kai. "We came to tell you what we saw earlier while we were lounging by the fields."

Kai turns to him as he continues.

"Someone took Lux while she was playing by herself there."

Kai's eyes widen upon hearing that. "Who took her?"

"Lok." Tanor tells him as Nex turns away.

"Lok?" asks Kai. "Who is he?"

"He's the guy who killed Xen and Remphy." Nex answers bitterly, still looking the other way. Kai turns to him. "Like Lux, he's what Bizmark calls 'successful'."

"No. 101," Tanor says, recapturing Kai's attention. "That's what some at the organization called him."

"Where do I find him?" Kai asks.

"Dunno." Nex replies. "From what we observed before, he likes dark places and he hates interacting with normal people. My guess is somewhere that's not pricey or decent but has a roof. Some random warehouse maybe."

Kai turns to go.

"You're going to go looking for her?" Tanor asks.

"What do you think, genius?" Kai replies sarcastically, walking from the two.

"Kai, wait." Tanor stops him.

Kai stops and glances back at him.

"Watch out for him. His senses are very sharp." Tanor advises.

"And that wing of his too." Nex adds. "It's more useful than it looks."

At this, Kai remembers the contents of the note from the night before and snaps his attention back to the two. "Wing?"

"He's got one wing sticking out from one side of his head." Nex turns to him. "It's not hard to miss so don't worry about having to look for it."

Kai recalls the one winged being in his dreams. Realizing the creature Nex describes may well be the one in his dreams and the one mentioned in the note, he then focuses his attention on the two again. "Tell me something, does this guy…Lok…have anything to do with kings?"

"Huh?" the two of them look to each other.

"Let's see…I'm not sure" Nex crosses his arms. He then turns to Tanor. "Tanor, you know anything?"

"I think he might have said something before about that." Tanor replies. "When we first tried to capture him, maybe."

"Oh yeah now I remember, he said something about him being the King and something else but I don't remember what it was." Nex says. "But what does…?"

Kai dashes off, leaving the two behind. Though exhausted from the day's training, he could not help but run and run as fast as he could. He could feel his heart throb with increasing fear. This fear was not for himself either, but for the silly and almost helpless girl who had come into his care. Unknown to him, A pair of blueish, iridescent eyes belonging to a cloaked figure watches him from midair.


	23. Waltzing Stars

**Hey! Sorry for the wait, but here's another chapter. Enjoy! (and don't forget to review)**

* * *

**CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE**

**~ Waltzing Stars ~**

* * *

The brilliantly tainted clouds float by slowly in the darkening sky, covering and uncovering the small sparkles that have begun to appear. Below, people rush here and there, most of them heading home after the long day. The horns blowing in the traffic and the hum of the engines of vehicles create a rhythmless music under the dim golden light of dusk. A small bird, without a slight care for all this, flaps its wings and glides over it all. Watching with a cheerless expression from behind a fence on a quiet roof is a boy with two toned blue hair. A gentle breeze blows through his hair and causes his tattered scarf to flutter a little. He turns away.

Within the last two days, Kai has tried almost every place in the city he could think of in hopes of finding Lux. He has had close to no sleep and if anything else there had been close to nothing to fill his stomach either. He even began to question his reasons for searching so hard for her. He had only known the girl for roughly a month, yet something inside just would not allow him to give up. Every time he considered the thought of giving up, the images from his dream would pop into his mind and his heart would throb with fear. He asked himself the question of why numerous times but no matter how many times he tries to answer that, he could not come up with an answer.

Feeling a little less tired, Kai heads for the stairway. It is now time for him to resume his search for her.

'Where are you, Lux…?'

...

The wind whistles as it enters a dark space through a narrow gap. Game noises originating from some handheld device could be heard in this dark space and is occasionally coupled by some rough turning of pages of a magazine. Light is scarce in this space. As the two carry on with their activities, a youth sitting in the corner looks up towards the opening in the roof. The wind whistles again as a pair of iridescent, heterochromatic eyes flutter open.

An august demon drops into the warehouse through the opening in the roof. As he straightens himself, the two occupied youths turn to face him.

"Any luck on the Knight, big bro?" asks a small boy as he pauses his game.

The small boy waits a few moments for the reply but it does not come.

"Guess that means a no?" the boy continues to watch him.

"No, I have not found him yet." the demon tells him.

"Well Zane said that Ventus-" the boy is cut off.

"Ventus is wandering around." the one in the corner says.

The one winged creature eyes the two of them for a moment. "Sparky, Zane."

"Yeah, big bro?" asks Sparky.

"Why do the two of you bring up Ventus?" the winged creature inquires. "He has nothing to do with us, no?"

"We-" Sparky is cut off again.

"We just saw him the other day, that's all." Zane answers for him. He then turns to the boy. "Right, Sparky?"

Sparky eyes Zane for a moment. Though he caught on, he can only bring himself to give a slight dubious nod. The youth holding the magazine glances back and forth between the two, unsure what is going on between them. He turns back to the one winged demon. As his eyes fall upon the creature, a slight look of fear forms on his face.

"Now about Lux," the one winged creature gestures in her direction. "I want you, Wyvynn, to take her to the altar as soon as your ability to fly long distances returns to you."

"Y-yes, big brother," Wyvynn responds, a little nervous.

"Sparky," the one winged demon calls.

"Yes, bro?" the boy returns his attention to him.

"When Wyvynn departs for the altar, I want you to go with him and stay with Lux to keep an eye on her." He tells him. "We don't want her waking up and figuring out what I told her was a lie."

"Yes big bro-" Sparky is cut off again by a soft voice from a far corner.

"Don't want…me…to wake up?" Lux speaks out. All eyes fell on her through the dim light. "and lie…Hilary said that it means words that aren't true."

The one winged creature turns to the boy. "Sparky…"

"Y-yes?" the boy turns to him with fright.

"Have you neglected the task I assigned you?" he asks menacingly.

"I…uh…really, really didn't mean to!" the boy begs. "I just forgot to get the-"

"Does that mean what you told me before wasn't true?" Lux asks, regaining their attention. "You weren't really going to help Kai?"

"Heh, why would we be interested in helping Kai keep you to himself when we need you at the altar for later?" the boy snickers.

The one winged creature sends the boy a glare but returns his attention to Lux.

"Al…tar?" she repeats. "What altar…?"

"The altar in which our wishes will be granted." Lok tells her.

"Altar in which…our wishes…" Lux's eyes widen. "Kull…she said…brothers…that boy calls you…"

"Yes, Kull was with us." Lok states.

"So you lied to me…you weren't going to help Kai…" Lux murmurs. She stands up and brushes some of the dirt off her. Then, she turns to the dim, narrow light coming from the slightly open doors. "I'm going…"

As Lux approaches the exit, a beyblade whistles through the air and stops her. She spins around to see in the dim light that it had been Lok who shot the blade toward her. Though the blade missed her by a few inches, she looked at him with fright. Her only hope of defending herself at this moment is if she had her blade with her, but unfortunately, that was left at home. Lux stood frozen as Lok approaches her slowly.

"I don't believe you have a choice." Lok holds his hand up as his blade returns to him. "As you are one of us, I did not hope to have to harm you but…since now there's no way to have you cooperate willingly, I guess I'll have no choice but to…shall we say, _put you _in no condition to leave us."

Kai stops dead in his tracks. Wide-eyed and alert, he looks around the gray, gold-lit scenery to see nothing but people passing by on their way to wherever they are headed. He had felt something just now, he was sure of it. He breathes heavily, trying to figure out what that was. Some birds fly by overhead and catches his attention. Seeing that there wasn't anything special in particular around him, he resumes his way to the last spot close by to the city where Lux may be.

Lux let's out a final cry of pain as she collapses to the ground. Soaked in crimson from head to toe, she takes one last glance at the fiend before her as he turns and leaps back up to his throne of wooden crates.

"Sparky." Lok calls.

"Y-yes, b-big brother?" Sparky stutters nervously.

"I will give you one chance to redeem your mistakes." Lok glances at him coldly. "Watch over this girl and do not let her escape. Should you fail this, I will personally make sure you see not the light of another day. Is that understood?"

"Y-yes, brother." He replies.

"Zane, Wyvynn." Lok turns away form Sparky.

"Yes?" they respond.

"The two of you are to come with me to assist me in searching for the Knight."

"Yes," they answer.

Lok spreads his wing and leaps through the opening in the roof. Wyvynn and Zane then descend from the pile of crates and exit through the door to go with him. Now, only the small boy remains. He eyes the fallen Lux and then turns to the door. Seeing that the others are all gone, he jumps back onto his crate and takes out his handheld gaming device.

'I wonder why Zane didn't want me to tell Lok about Ventus…' the boy wonders in his head as he starts up his toy.

...

A few hours have passed by and the sky is now no longer lit except by the dim, silver light of the moon. Small glitters line the vast dark canvas in all directions too. It stretches like a veil over what looks like a ruin of metal. A two toned blue haired boy peaks inside a rundown warehouse. It too was empty. By now, this one had to be the umpteenth warehouse he has searched through.

Kai grabs hold of a rusted piece of material nearby. He was exhausted, very exhausted. Though he picked up some bread on his way here earlier, what little energy he gained from consuming it is almost used up. Despite that, he forces himself to move to the next warehouse. As he approaches this one, he hears something. Though it was faint, he was sure that someone was inside of this warehouse. When he was close enough, he could make out what seems to be sounds coming from a handheld gaming device.

The doors to this warehouse were partly parted, much unlike the rest which were already open. Kai pushes one door open. As the sound of the door creaking resounds in the darkness, the gaming noises seem to be paused.

"Who's there?" a voice that seems to belong to a young boy asks.

'A little boy?' Kai thinks to himself.

"Hey, I said, who's there?" the boy shouts to him again.

Kai remains silent for a few moments. He wonders why a young boy would be here by himself, but gets past the thought.

"Hey kid," he addresses the boy in the dark warehouse. "Have you seen a girl with long blond hair and strange eyes?"

The boy remains silent for a while before answering, "No, I haven't"

'He sure took a while to answer…' Kai observes. He then asks, "Then what about a guy with one wing?"

"N-no, a guy with one wing? Are you crazy, mister?"

'Hmm…' Kai gazes into the darkness for a bit. 'There's something strange about this boy that I just can't quite put a finger on…'

"Are you done, mister?" the boy asks him.

"Yeah," Kai turns to go. Then, he stops and turns back around. "Just one more thing."

"What?" the boy responds.

"What are you doing here all by yourself?" Kai asks him.

The boy does not answer.

"Well?" Kai pushes.

"I'm…uh…waiting for my father." the boy says.

"Your father?"

"Yeah, he's uh…collecting some materials nearby." the boy says. "He said to wait in here."

Kai narrows his eyes. "I haven't seen anyone else around here."

"W-well I don't know!" the boy yells, annoyed. "He said to wait here, so I wait here. Now would you leave me alone, I wanna finish my game."

Kai takes a step inside and looks around. Unfortunately, it was too dark and he could see nothing. Yet, he could not ask if he could search the place for that would clearly indicate he does not trust what the boy said.

"Fine, I'll go." Kai turns and exits.

The boy watches as he leaves. When he was sure that Kai was nowhere closeby anymore, he let's out a sigh of relief and turns to the girl laying in the corner by the door that Kai did not push open.

'That was close…' he thinks to himself.

...

Elsewhere, inside a large mansion, the bitchip of a silver blade glows brightly, catching the interest of a small kitten. It jumps onto the table onto which the blade lies and examines it with curiosity.

A delicate, slender figure treads on some lush grass as the wind plays softly with her golden hair. She looks around. Petals, soft and fragile of rosy pink and pure white tones ride on the air and generate a fresh, pleasant scent. As Lux wanders through this setting, she comes upon a lake glittering with light. She sits down beside it and gazes into the water. She sees her reflection, her golden hair and her pink and white robe of silk fluttering. She watches her own reflection in the water for a while, oblivious to a certain figure walking on the water towards her from the middle of the lake. As she admires the way the image wavers in the water, another face appears upside down beside her own. Lux looks up to see a figure almost identical to herself. The only difference was that she had pointed ears like those of elves and her eyes were both a gentle tone of cerulean blue.

"Lux," the figure addresses her gently.

"Your…voice…" Lux mutters. "I've heard it…"

"Yes, you have." She tells her. "And not long ago either."

"You are…"

"Elfe." she finishes for her.

"Elfe…" Lux repeats. "Where am I?"

"You are in your own dream." Elfe tells her.

"My own…dream?"

"Yes." Elfe answers her. "And you must leave it now."

"Leave…it…why?" she asks her. "and how?"

"You must." Elfe tells her. "Now gaze into the water."

Lux does as she is told. This time, she does not see her own reflection. Instead, she see a dark but familiar place. There seem to be voices too, voices belonging to two different people. The first belonged to a small boy she had heard somewhere before. The second was much more familiar however. It was Kai's voice.

"Fine, I'll go." It said.

Lux turns back to Elfe.

"You wish to go where he is?" Elfe asks her.

Lux nods.

"Then, jump into the water." Elfe tells her.

Lux turns back to the water and stands up. She looks back to Elfe one more time before taking a step into the water. As she steps in, she felt herself falling into the lake. She looks down. The lake's bottom seems to be just a bright light. Lux closes her eyes as the light surrounds her. After what felt like nothing, she opens them to discover herself in the same place she was in before. It was the warehouse Lok had tricked her to come to.

She watches as Kai exits the warehouse, unaware that she was there. She then turns to the little boy that had been told to guard her. He seems to be still for a while, as if waiting for something. He then lets out a sigh of relief and resumes his game.

Lux returns her attention to the door. It was wide open and inviting her to pass through it. She then turns to the boy again to see that he was occupied with his gaming device. Seeing this chance, Lux tries to lift herself up only to feel a bolt of pain strike through her body. She remains silent. If she let's out so much as a slight sound, she would catch the attention of the little boy and though what she knew was not much, she knew she definitely did not want the boy's attention on her.

As the boy continues spamming the buttons on his handheld game, Lux tries again to get up while trying as hard as she can to remain quiet. After several painful tries, she finally manages to sit up. Using the wall for support, she ignores her pain and pulls herself on her feet. She then looks to the door she must pass by. She remembers the way it creaked when Lok opened it for her before.

Lux looks to the boy again. In order to make it to the opened door without the boy noticing, she would have to be able to walk past the closed door without support so she won't make it creak. After a few moments of hesitation, she takes a step forward and let's go of the wall. She takes another step and wobbles a little but manages to regain balance after a few moments. Lux turns to the boy to see that he is still vehemently fighting something in his game. She let's out a silent sigh of relief and returns her attention to the exit. With much effort, she manages to make it to the opened door without notice and exits the place. As she stumbles away from the warehouse, she tries to retrace the path she took with the one winged fiend before so she may return to Kai.

...

Tired and in need of sleep, Kai collapses onto a bench in a better lit area. A nearby lamp illuminates some slides and swings not too far away. Kai closes his eyes. The night is silent and the air is warm. He would have quickly fallen asleep but instead, he heard a sound from not too far away. At first, he was going to ignore it and rest a little, but feeling curious as to what it was, he opens his eyes again and turns in the direction of the sound to see a golden haired bundle covered in crimson on the ground. Recognizing the "bundle" as the girl he had been searching for, he springs up from the bench and rushes to her. He kneels down beside to her and picks her up, careful not to hurt her more than she has already been hurt.

"Lux!" He calls her name.

No response came.

Kai looks around. It did not seem like anyone was around.

'Does that mean she came here all by herself?' Kai asks himself.

He looks at her again. If she had came by herself, it was certainly a miracle considering the extent she had been wounded. Nonetheless, Kai holds onto her tighter and stands up. He would have to bring her to a doctor as soon as he can.

As Kai turns to the exit, a voice stops him.

"If you're bringing her to a hospital, I suggest you save your strength." it said.

Kai spins around to see a youth with light blond hair clad in dark leather floating in midair. His physique and face were both somewhat familiar but Kai could not tell why. Kai watches the young man with caution as he lands onto the ground.

"The doctors won't know what to do with her as soon as they find all the junk Bizmark and Dr. Vaniard put into her body." the young man says.

Kai remains silent for a few moments.

"Who are you?" Kai demands from him.

"Who am I…" he repeats amused. "I'm the one who has been sending you all those notes in your mail, fool. My name is Ventus."

'Ventus...I've heard that name before...but where?'


	24. Ventus

**CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR**

**~ Ventus ~**

* * *

The wind blows with great strength, rustling the trees and the bushes loudly. It continues to blow, eventually causing the lamp to flicker on and off. Two youths stand opposite each other under this unstable light. Kai watches the youth who introduced himself as Ventus with caution as he tightens his grip on the girl in his arms. The wind settles down and the lamp continues to function as it normally should.

"Kai…" Ventus addresses. "You disappoint me."

"What are you talking about, I don't have time for this kind of chitchat." Kai glares at him.

"Like I said, if you intend to take her to a hospital, you can save it." Ventus repeats. "They'll do her about as much good as you can alone if they don't know out how she'll react to the known medications and treatments."

Kai narrows his eyes on the other youth. "What do you want?"

"I'll be laconic." Ventus says. "I want to see if you _can_ protect Lux."

"I don't have the time for this." Kai says, turning to go. As he does, he realizes something and turns back around. Kai then asks him. "What do you know about Lux and what did you mean by 'junk' in her body? And if the doctors won't know what to do with her, then do you know?"

"If you want to know all that, you'll just have to accept my challenge and beat me. I'll even answer anything you ask me to the best of my knowledge." Ventus answers him. "Of course, if you loose, Lux comes with me as your defeat will mark your inability to protect her."

"What!" Kai exclaims. "Forget it!"

"Then, deal with her however you please." Ventus says.

Kai looks at Lux for a moment. Her face is pale and her breath is weak. Crimson fluids still ooze out from her more serious wounds. He thinks for a moment about what Ventus just said. He could definitely take her to a hospital but if what Ventus said was true, then all he'd be doing would be putting her in more danger.

Kai lays Lux down onto the ground gently and turns back to Ventus. He then takes out his blade and launcher.

"Fine, I'll accept your challenge." Kai tells him.

"Then let the test begin." Ventus replies, pulling out his own launcher and white blade. 'Show me that you have the potential to protect her, Kai…'

"3…2…1…Let it rip!" the two of them shouts, launching their blades.

'Come on, Dranzer, don't let me down…' Kai prays to his bitbeast as the two blades collide in midair.

The two blades fall to the ground and revolve around each other waiting for the other's move.

"Not bad…for someone so tired." Ventus comments. "But…"

Ventus's white blade heads off towards the lamp and runs upwards using it. It stops right before it hits the top and waits there as if defying gravity.

Kai turns from the blade to the blader for a moment. Right at that moment, the white blade leaps horizontally from the lamppost and flips onto Dranzer, knocking it off balance and sliding in a direction away from the white blade.

"If you're going to loose focus in battle, you might as well surrender to me now." Ventus tells him. "Lok for one won't hesitate to use your distraction to his advantage. You'd loose for sure if it were against him."

Upon hearing that, Kai became enraged. "You haven't seen anything just yet!"

Dranzer speeds towards the white blade to attack it. As he was about to make contact, the white blade seemingly disappears.

Kai begins to search for it. 'Where'd it go?'

"Didn't I say to focus?" Ventus points upwards to his blade as it dives from high in the air for Kai's.

Though Kai tried to react to it, the white blade still hit Dranzer and caused it to wobble. Despite that, Kai chases Ventus's white blade and tries to attack it. As it was about to make contact again, the same thing happened as before. Kai looks up, searching for the white blade. As he searches, the white blade emerges from a thick nearby bush and strikes Dranzer.

"What the…!" Kai exclaims in surprise.

"Falling for the same trick twice…" Ventus mutters. "Maybe you really don't have what it takes to protect her from Lok."

"That's NOT true!" Kai screams, channeling his anger into his blade for another attack. This time, he hit his mark and it was Ventus's white blade that is wobbling. However, as Kai tries to make another attack, Ventus's blade tips forward a little and sends Kai's blade flipping away from it.

"You fight like a child; so far you prove easy to taunt and easy to trick." Ventus taunts him. "But I guess I'll do a final check to see if you have what it takes or not. So much for second place in the world championships back when the BBA was well and good and taking down that Brooklyn guy in BEGA…"

Ventus's blade circles Kai's blade now and it seems to be increasing in speed. As it does this, a strong gust of wind is generated and sends Kai's blade into the air, levitating it. Ventus then sends his blade smashing into Kai's Dranzer.

"I guess that's check." Ventus muses, expecting to see Kai defeated through the dust.

As the dust clears, however, Ventus is shown another result. Dranzer was still spinning and shows no sign of stopping anytime soon.

'He's stronger than I thought…' Ventus comments mentally.

"It seems you guessed wrong." Kai throws back at him.

"You sure that wasn't just luck, Kai?" Ventus turns from the blades to him. "'Cause that's what _I_ think it was… Siegfried!"

Ventus sends Siegfried into Kai's blade again only to miss.

'What!' Ventus thinks in his mind.

Ventus searches everywhere within his view for Dranzer, but cannot seem to find it. Then, without warning, Dranzer bursts out from the same bush as the one Ventus used. It tries to knock Siegfried back but misses.

Ventus chuckles. "I don't fall for my own tricks…"

Kai remains silent.

"Well then, I suppose I should finish you off." Ventus straightens up. "Siegfried, Strike of Balmung!"

Kai watches as Siegfried closes in on Dranzer. It seems to have summoned a bitspirit in the form of a knight wielding a giant sword. The knight charges towards Dranzer, but as it was about to make its mark, Kai sends Dranzer into the air.

'I'm counting on you for this, Dranzer,' Kai communicates to his bitbeast. "Dranzer, Spiral Fireball!"

Combining his own power with his blade's momentum and the force of gravity, Kai's blade fell like a lone meteor towards Siegfried and stirs up the dust around the two blades. As the dust clears, a large crater is revealed. In the center is a wobbling white blade and a strong blue one. Soon, Siegfried falls still. The winner is clearly decided.

Ventus stares for a few moments at his blade as Kai steps forward to pick Dranzer up. Then, he looks up at Kai.

"Looks like I won." Kai walks up to Ventus. "Now then, you owe me some info."

"I don't deny that." Ventus says as he picks up his blade. "We'll start with Lux's current condition. Just bandage those wounds without applying any medication and have her rest up."

"What?" Kai watches Ventus's amused look in disbelief. He had been sure Lux would at least need a few stitches and possibly even a blood transfusion.

"She doesn't know this herself, but her body is equipped with a nanotechnological system." Ventus explains to him. "It activates only when she's unconscious and accelerates her rate of healing if she's ever injured but it doesn't do anything else much since development was never finished. However, I strongly advise you to avoid giving her any medications, topical, injected or ingested. Bizmark and Dr. Vaniard gave those with augmented souls a particularly large variety and dosage of drugs; a reaction to any other medications would be extremely...volatile."

"Augmented souls?"

"Magnanimae. That's the name given to them by the ancient tribe that prophesized their existence." Ventus tells him. "They're just like any normal human being…at least 'til they're awakened by some sort of artificial disturbance. After they're awakened, they may tap into their soul for certain powers or abilities such as but not limited to levitation. It is said that there are a total of eight of them, seven of which are born with augmented souls. When seven of the eight are gathered at a specific place, one of two rituals can be preformed. By order named in the prophecy, they are the King, the Sage, the Dragon, the Urchin, the Knight, the Witch and the Princess."

"And the last?" Kai asks.

"The Conditional Knight." Ventus tells him.

"Conditional?"

"He is only acts as a Magnanima under certain conditions."

"And those conditions are?" Kai asks.

"I don't remember." Ventus answers him plainly.

Kai looks at him for a moment, wondering if he was hiding something. Deciding it'd be pointless to try to get him to spill it if he was, Kai turns from him.

"Thanks." he walks towards Lux. He picks her up gently and was about to leave but turns back to Ventus. "Just one more question."

"Hm?"

"Who are you?" Kai inquires. "Why are you helping Lux?"

"Her father is both my uncle and benefactor." Ventus tells him. "I came from a wealthy family in Scandinavia. As one of the pampered and high class, I was naturally limited to company similar to myself. Though Lux and I lived in different households, we spent a lot of time together. Most of the others around my status were snobs so I didn't like them much anyways. We were like brother and sister."

"What happened?" Kai asks him.

"One night, Lux invited me over for a sleepover. It was really just so we could spend more time playing a collectable card game we both liked. During most of the day we would be busy with lessons or other things. I remember we were both in the middle of a match and she was about to win when one of her maids came in and said there's a phone call for me. My life changed after I answered it."

Ventus turns to Lux and strokes her hair gently. "While I was away, it seems a band of cloaked freaks raided my home. They were searching for something but nothing was reported missing. They killed everyone there, everyone but the young daughter of an old maid who hid inside an unheated oven. She described everything she saw. The trauma affected her so much she eventually had to be sent away. As for me, I suppose I was lucky that Lux invited me over that night. I was suppose to inherit my family's fortune after that since I was the only one left but I inherited nothing."

Kai watches as Ventus's nostalgic expression turns into an angry and vindictive one. "It was gone, all of it. The money in my parent's bank account and the estate…everything. It was stolen. I didn't know who stole it for a long time either. At the time, I was devastated. I lost everything and I thought that's all there will be to it and I'd just be alone. Right at that moment, though, Lux and her father took me in."

Ventus's countenance softens. "My uncle said he would care for me as if I was one of his own. Though my uncle was always busy with work and whatnot, he would buy me lots of presents to try to make up for not being able to be there. Lux and my aunt stayed by my side more often though. My aunt would always try to make my favorite foods so that I wouldn't miss the dishes my mother used to cook for me too much. As for Lux, She stayed with me and told me that she'd be there so I wouldn't be alone. That's when I realized that I took everything for granted before. And so, I came to love each of them dearly…my uncle, my aunt, and most of all, Lux."

"Unfortunately, two of the three people I grew to love were taken not too long after." Ventus continues. "My uncle, my aunt and Lux were going to go and donate some stuff to the poor. It was both out of kindness and for publicity since that would help my uncle's company's reputation. I was sick that time though so I didn't go. But…as soon as I got better, I found out that my uncle and aunt had been killed in a small town in Russia. As for Lux, she was nowhere to be found. I headed there immediately using the cash that my uncle left me in case of an emergency to search for her. I couldn't find her. At least…not immediately. After a while, I was even gonna give up actually but by some miracle, I found where she was…or rather…where Bizmark's henchmen took her. I tried to infiltrate their lab so that I could at least try to rescue Lux. Instead, I almost ended up being one of their specimens."

"When Bizmark's goons found me in their lab, they were going to test to see if I had the traits of a Magnanima. Luckily for me, I was able to get past the computer's security programs and get a glance at the list of traits those scientists speculated a Magnanima would have while I was poking around before they found me. Thanks to that I managed to fool them into thinking I was just a useless boy. I was the only one to fail that test though, so naturally, I was the only one who did not have to go through with the other tests. Thanks to that, I'm also the only one whose memory wasn't tinkered. Of course, after I saw the inside of the lab, Bizmark would never let me out free even if I didn't seem useful to him. In order to survive, I pretended to be Bizmark's lapdog. By impressing him and doing most of what he wants, I gained his trust as well as power within his organization. I even found out who it was who took my family's fortune thanks to the privileges he gave me. It none other than Bizmark. He didn't just take my family's fortune either, he stole from many others and used that money to fund his stupid research facility so that he can try to use the Magnanimae's power to take control of the world. I began to plot a way in which Lux could escape…and I did what I could to carry it out."

"I'm the reason why you even know Lux." Ventus turns to him. "It was me who dressed up as an intruder so that I could get on the lab's west wing security cameras. After that, I edited all the recordings of the lab and used them the following night along with my knowledge of computers to fool the buffoons who sat in the security room. With them busy thinking there's an intruder in the west wing again, I snuck Lux out of the lab from the east wing and took her to Moscow. I didn't return to the lab until I sent her off to Japan at the airport. Afterwards I simply told them I was out for a breath of fresh air and missed all the action."

Just as Ventus was about to continue, Lux shifts slightly in Kai's arms drawing his attention to her. Kai turns to her, half hoping for her to wake up while half hoping she would stay unconscious so she could continue healing some more. She remains unconscious.

"I think you should take her back with you now." Ventus tells Kai.

Kai nods and turns to go.

"By the way." Ventus calls to him.

Kai glances back in response.

"I know Tala will be heading back to Russia." Ventus states.

Kai's eyes widen in surprise. "How do you…"

"Go with him." Ventus tells him. "When Lok finds out Lux is missing, he's gonna either let you keep her until he finds the Knight or come to your place to take her back."

"But-"

"You're no condition to fight Lok as you are right now." Ventus interrupts him. "Go with Tala and have him show you to the lab. Don't worry, it's safe there now."

Kai nods as Ventus leaps into the air and disappears into the darkness.


	25. Awakening

**I've been a little busy so im sorry this one took longer than normal to update. Anyways, enjoy and review!**

* * *

**CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE**

**~ Awakening ~**

* * *

A silver orb, dimly lit, floats with more fullness than it did the previous night. The clouds hover high above a sleeping civilization, occasionally covering its queen of silver like a misty veil. A small object glitters in this night, riding on the air towards a large estate. It settles on the windowsill of an open window, soundless and unnoticed by the sleeping maiden who occupies the room beyond. The curtains flutter slightly and then fall still as the door clicks open and then closes with minimized noise.

Kai approaches the bed where the sleeping girl lies. Having been caring for her the past twenty four hours, he pulls up a nearby chair and sits down to rest a little. As he closes his eyes, he thinks back to the words of the one named Ventus. Just as he had said, Lux's wounds were recovering at a remarkable speed. Relieved by the fact that this means she would be alright, he drifts off into a timeless dimension.

In a twilight world normally skew to reality, a large ash tree stands amidst a lake clearer than crystal of infinite depth. Its roots, thick and adamant in appearance seem to stretch to the bottom while its branches, equally great and sturdy seem to reach forever into the sky. Lux lays asleep against this worldly tree on the surface of the lake, knowing nothing of the elven figure walking on the waters of the lake towards her. When the elven figure is close enough, she bends down and stretches her hand towards Lux to stroke her face. The sky changes to a bright tone of azure as she does this.

Lux wakes up to the gentle touch and slowly opens her eyes. She squints a little as her eyes meet her bright surroundings and eventually come to focus on a face identical to that of her own.

"E…Elfe?" Lux mutters.

The elf nods. Lux then sits up and rubs the sleep from her eyes. She looks around and eventually ends up staring at the bottomless lake she is sitting on.

"Where am I?" she asks Elfe.

"You are in your own dream again." Elfe replies.

"Dream?" Lux turns to Elfe. "So am I sleeping?"

"Not quite." Elfe answers her. "But this time, you should stay for a bit."

"Why?" Lux asks her. "What about Kai? I wasn't able to get to him…"

Elfe gently strokes Lux again. "You were."

"I…was?" Lux looks down at the lake again. "Was I…? I don't remember it…I was at the park…"

Elfe watches the uncertain girl for a while until she got up from her seat on the lake.

"I want to see Kai." she says before she ran towards the shore.

Elfe watches her do so and walks to the shore too. Once there, Lux looks around. The ash tree and the lake seem to have vanished and is replaced by a lively, emerald glade. Familiar petals of pink and white dance among themselves in the fragrant air. They spiral up towards the clouds that seem to wind into the heavens. Frightened by the sudden change in scenery, Lux takes a step back only to bump into someone of about her own size. She turns around to meet Elfe.

"Like I said, it's better if you stay here." Elfe says to her.

"But-"

"You need to heal." Elfe tells her.

"Heal?"

"It means to get better."

"To get better?"

Elfe nods. "Once you're better you can return to the real world and you will see Kai again."

"Really?" Lux asks her.

Elfe nods and extends a hand towards Lux. "I will help you pass your time here."

Lux stares at her hand for a moment before reaching out to it.

...

As Lux takes Elfe's hand, a pale creature stands still above a tall skyscraper like a stone gargoyle, gazing at everything in the city below. He turns in a direction and looks coldly into something in the distance there. However, a soft sound recalls his attention.

"Lok," greets a cloaked youth.

"No sign of him?" Lok asks without looking at the youth.

"No." Zane responds.

"I see." Lok mouths. "Zane."

"Yes?"

"Tell Wyvynn we will be returning in the morning." Lok tells him. "I must rid us of a certain weakling."

Zane watches him for a moment before asking, "Did something happen with Lux?"

The pale creature spreads his wing and glances at Zane from the corner of his eye.

...

Elfe pokes into a bush to find Lux there.

"You found me!" Lux exclaims.

Elfe smiles back.

"Ok, it's your turn to hide now," Lux tells her as she sits down on the soft grass and covers her eyes with her hands.

Elfe quickly runs off towards a nearby grove of trees to hide as Lux began to count.

"…7…8…9…10…11…" Lux counts on in the quiet setting. "…16…17…18…19…20!"

Lux uncovers her eyes and looks around. As her eyes search for her elven companion, they discover in the distance a large, familiar lake. She takes some steps towards it.

"It's the same lake...as before…" Lux mutters softly to herself.

She walks closer to it and gazes into it again. This time, the vision in the lake shows her sleeping self bandaged around the head and arms, dressed in a shirt and tucked in nicely. Beside her is a two toned blue haired boy, fast asleep on the chair with his head leaned back.

"Kai!" Lux cries with delight.

As she watches him, she sees the shadow of a small object from the window of the room move. Unsure of what it was, she leans closer to get a better look only to slip and fall into the lake.

Lux wakes up with a start. She bolts up from the bed and turns in the direction of the window to see the curtains flutter and nothing else there. She wonders if it had been a bird but a sharp pain in her side interrupts her thoughts and forces her to let out a soft yelp.

The yelp wakes Kai and causes him to jerk his attention towards Lux. Unable to see her properly in the dark, he gets up from the chair and turns on the nearest light to see that she is sitting up and clutching her side as if in pain and remembers that as the location of one of her more major wounds. Kai immediately rushes to her side.

"Lux!" he calls her. "Are you alright?"

Lux turns to him.

"Kai…it's you…" she says weakly but gladly, extending her free hand to touch his cheek. "I wanted…to see…you…"

"Yeah, its me. I'm right here." he tells her, taking her hand in his. He then turns to the wound she is clutching, "Does it hurt?"

Lux nods, her eyes tearful from the pain in her side. "It hurts a lot…"

Kai let's go of her hand and gently pulls her other hand from the wound to examine it. However, before he even lifted her shirt, he notices a large crimson stain. He then glances at her hand to see some red stains on there too. Suspecting that her wound might have reopened, he lifts her shirt up slightly to take off the bandages around her stomach. His suspicions are confirmed when a gash at her side becomes visible under the lamp's light.

Kai turns back to Lux to see her wide-eyed and speechless as some crimson fluid oozes out from the gash at her side. He strokes her hair gently and smiles to her to try to alleviate her of her fear.

"You'll be ok." he tries to assure her. "I promise."

Lux turns from her wound to him, still quite scared and with tears in her eyes. Kai glances at her wound again and then back to Lux. He pushes her down gently onto the bed. As he does, he could feel her grow tense probably from the pain of moving the reopened wound. He strokes her hair again.

"I'll be right back, ok?" he tells her before turning to go.

She nods slightly but looks to him as if not wanting him to leave her side. Seeing this, Kai turns back to her.

"I'm just going to go get some bandages for you, so stay here and wait for me…" he tries to reassure her. "…ok?"

Lux nods reluctantly and watches him go.

...

Eventually, five minutes have ticked by. Lux has done exactly as Kai had told her – stay and wait. She turns from the door to the small clock on the bedside table and watches as the second hand continues to move. Hoping Kai would be back soon, she turns back to the door and waits for it to open again. However another five minutes pass but it does not open.

The words of the one winged tormentor then flashes through Lux's mind. Responding with fear to them, Lux tries to push herself up on her arms without realizing that by doing so she would hurt her wound again. As she tries to get up from the bed and stand, the same sharp pain as before shoots through her body and causes her to cry out and collapse onto the floor in a loud thump.

After having finally found the bandages at a place he did not expect it to be, Kai returns to Lux's room to try to rebandage her wound. As he nears her door, he hears a scream and a loud thump coming from inside the room. Fearing something might have happened, he runs to her door and bursts inside to find the injured girl collapsed onto the floor. He hurries to her and pulls her into his arms as gently as he could. As he brushes a stray strand of hair from her face, her eyes open slowly to greet his.

"Lux, what happened?" Kai asks her.

"You're back…" she says softly. "Welcome…back…I was waiting…for you"

Kai takes a quick look around the room to see that nothing seems to be out of place except for the bed sheets which seem to have been dragged onto the floor. In some ways that relieved him since it means it was not likely that anyone else had been in the room. He turns back to Lux to see that she has relaxed in his arms and closed her eyes.

'Did she try to get out of bed?' Kai asks in his mind.

Nonetheless he begins to rebandage her wound.

'Hang in there, Lux…'

When Kai is finished reapplying Lux's bandages, he carries her onto the bed and tucks her in. He takes a seat on the chair near the bed afterwards and watches her for a while. Thinking that she will be alright now, Kai leans back on the chair ready to sleep. Just as he was about to doze off, however, he feels a gentle hand place itself on top of his own. Kai opens his eyes and sits up again, turning to the hand's owner.

"Kai?" Lux breathes out.

"Yeah?" Kai responds.

"I'm glad…"

"Huh?"

"That you're here." she goes on. "Lok…he said he would never let me see you again."

Kai's eyes widen. 'Wait…Could it be…?'

"That's why I was scared earlier…" Lux closes her eyes but holds onto Kai's hand. "I was scared you wouldn't come back."

Kai holds her hand with both of his. Concerned for Lux but angry with Lok all at once, he remains silent, diverting his gaze from her.

"Kai?" Lux calls to him barely above a whisper, "Is something wrong?"

Kai turns back to her to meet her inquiring eyes.

"You're holding my hand very tightly." she points out.

"No, it's nothing." Kai tells her, loosening his grip on her hand. "Don't worry."

"Ok" she answers him with a gentle smile, closing her eyes again.

"By the way, Lux…"

Lux opens her eyes and turns to him to show that she is listening.

"Is Lok the one who did this to you?" Kai asks her.

"Did…?"

"Is he the one who hurt you?" Kai rephrases.

Lux nods, turning to the ceiling. "He said he would make the people who are after me go away…but it wasn't true."

Kai watches her for a moment.

"When I found out and tried to go, he hurt me…" Lux continues, her eyes swelling with tears again. "I'm scared of him…"

"You don't have to be…" Kai tells her.

Lux turns back to him.

"'Cause I won't let him hurt you again." Kai finishes.

"Really?" Lux asks with a hopeful expression.

Kai nods.

"I promise," he vows. "I promise I'll protect you."

Lux responds with a smile and closes her eyes to go to sleep as Kai remains by her side, holding onto her hand. Somewhere outside, the silhouette of a youth clad in a long coat and sitting on the branches of a tall tree, gazing upwards at something is illuminated by the silver light of the moon. The breeze seems to be playing with his light blond hair but he does not seem to care. He stretches out a hand as if to catch or grab ahold of something in the air. As he observes the iridescent particles floating by him, a smile forms on his lips.

...

Elsewhere, a pair of iridescent eyes belonging to a one winged, silver haired youth standing atop a skyscraper observes the same iridescent particles but with a much different expression. He turns away from them shortly and extends a hand outward as a small glittering object flies his way. He catches that object with ease and returns his angry gaze to the city below him.


	26. Uneasy Coldness

**CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX**

**~ Uneasy Coldness ~**

* * *

A fairly large creature glides through the air with one wing and perches like a devil atop the roof of a rundown warehouse, his landing making a soft thump on the metallic material. Silence surrounds him in the dark night but soft barely audible squeals could be heard coming from the inside of the warehouse should one listen closely. The creature straightens himself and takes a step toward an opening in the roof and in an instant jumps through it and lands on the crate below in kneeling position facing the source of the soft squeals of fear. He stands up slowly under the moonlight. His angry gaze soon set on the boy in the corner.

"W-welcome back, Lok…uhm…uh…" Sparky squeals as the creature approaches him. "See, Kai came by…and well…somehow…she disappeared…and…well…and…"

The boy never finished. The slight glow from the creature's wing fades and a pool gleams dimly in the little light remaining.

"Incompetence…" the creature mutters. He turns slightly and calls calmly, "Zane."

A youth steps in through the main entrance in response. "Yes?"

"Has Wyvynn returned?" Lok asks him.

Another youth steps in from the front behind him. "I'm here."

"You will assist me in finding the Knight…both of them." he tells him. "The eighth mustn't interfere."

"Y-yes," Wyvynn replies hesitantly as more light fills the skies and the warehouse.

Lok jumps back to the crate at the top and leaps up out of the warehouse. Zane also turns to exit but before he leaves, he mutters, "You know what to do with Sparky."

Wyvynn nods. After the other two leaves, he turns to the motionless, bloodied bundle barely lit by the soft light of daybreak and whispers six syllables before turning to exit the warehouse as well.


	27. Fragment

**CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN**

**~ Fragment ~**

* * *

A soft glow gently brightens in the sky and pierces the sleepy atmosphere inside a quiet bedroom of a large residence. Morning's fragrance soon drifts inside this room from the outside as the celestial objects once visible fades into the sky. The room, originally darkened begins to shift in color to warmer, gentler tones. Sleeping in silence are two: a girl whose face is framed by golden strands and a two toned blue haired boy at her bedside. However, soon, one of them is awakened by a repeated ringing noise originating from another part of the mansion.

The irritating noise repeats itself again and again, alarming all in the residence and making its desire for attention known. Slowly, Kai shifts in his sleep and slowly, he opens his eyes. Almost immediately he winces slightly as a burning sensation becomes noticeable on his left eye. Nonetheless he hears the call and decides he should answer it, letting go of the gentle hand he had been holding onto while he slept.

Finally arriving at the room the phone is located in, Kai picks up the phone quickly in hopes of stopping it from waking Lux.

As soon as the phone was beside his ear, the voice on the other end of the line said, "Kai, I got an email from Judy this morning about the bitbeast fragment from Lux's launcher."

Kai recognizes the caller immediately from the voice.

"She also sent me the data she collected from her tests." Kenny continues on the other line, "I'll be at Tyson's place. I'll show you everything there, ok?"

"I'll be there." Kai answers before hanging up. He turns to return upstairs to get ready but sees Lux standing in the doorway holding onto the door of the parlor for balance with one hand while her other hand was placed over the wound on her side.

"Lux!" he exclaims, hurrying to her in fear that she might reopen her wounds by moving around. "What are you doing here? You should get more rest."

"I heard the phone ring…and you weren't there…so I thought I'd come get it…" she replies.

"Don't worry about it." Kai tells her.

"I want to come too." She says just above a whisper. "I heard Chief say…he got more data from Max's mother. I will come too."

"No, you should stay in bed, until you're better." Kai tells her, hoping to convince her to stay put. However he was disappointed by a gentle shake of her head.

"I want to know…" she says softly.

Kai looked at her for a moment. Then, he finally decides that it should be ok for her to come with him as long as he can make sure she doesn't hurt herself further.

...

Later at a familiar dojo, after a careful ride from Kai's chauffeur, Kai and Lux enter to find a familiar sight: Tyson and Daichi fighting over some trivial matter and Hillary scolding them as usual with Max and Ray sitting nearby watching them and the Chief typing busily away on his laptop. The two are greeted immediately though Lux's apparent condition causes for concern from the bunch and brings Tyson and Daichi's quarrel to a halt.

"Lux, what happened to you?" Hillary asks as she rushes over to help Lux take a seat on the porch. Most of the others surround her in concern.

"She was more or less kidnapped by some freak called 'The King'." Kai answers for her, knowing that it would be best for her to sit and rest.

"The King?" Max turns to him. "You mean like the way Kull called herself 'The Witch' and stuff?"

Kai nods.

"So there's more of those freaks?" Tyson puts on an annoyed face. "Why do they keep calling themselves that…?"

"'The King, the Sage, the Dragon, the Urchin, the Knight, the Witch and the Princess'…Ventus said they're the Magnanimae; augmented souls that can awaken special abilities." Kai goes on.

"Ventus…" Lux whispers looking to Kai for more information.

"Ventus? Who's he?" Daichi asks.

"He said he's a relative of Lux. Her cousin to be exact."

"That explains the pictures." Tyson points out, remembering the pictures sent to Lux from before. "He must've been the one to send them."

"He also mentioned a guy named Bizmark that was running the research lab that performed some experiments on Lux. He didn't say much more about him."

The group remained silent for a moment to think. Soon however, Kai breaks this silence.

"So about the data you told me about on the phone…" he turns to Kenny. "What did Judy find out?"

"Well, according to what she sent me, it would appear that all of their volunteers that launched a blade from a launcher that had the bitbeast fragment in it became emotionless and zombie like until the blade stopped spinning on its own." Kenny explains.

"Emotionless and zombie like…?" Hillary repeats, a little perplexed.

"They manually stopped the blades of one of the test subjects in a beybattle at one point though…" Kenny goes on. "That person…well…he died."

Shocked eyes fell on the small boy. Silence took over momentarily until it was broken.

"From what though?" asks Max.

"They don't know." Kenny replies. "According to the report Judy attached, every time the blade was hit, the blader acted as if he took damage as well though no injuries were found at all. When the blades stopped, the test subject's vital signs stopped too and the body just fell limp. Each of the volunteers were confirmed to have been in tip top condition prior to the testing."

"But how is that possible…?" Ray asks.

"There's one other thing though…" Kenny continues. "None of the volunteers exceeded the capabilities of an ordinary blader…none of them produced a crater upon launch."

Each of them turns to Lux who stares back with a rather blank look.

"And none of them were experimented on either like Lux was…" Ray points out.

"Nor are they Magnanimae." Kai adds.

Another silent moment dominates the air.

"You said before that the bitbeast has a special ability, right?" Kai asks Kenny.

"Uh…yeah," Kenny answers.

"Is this it?" Kai asks him.

"It could be." Kenny answers.

"Hey guys," Ray calls to them. "When Kull's blade was hit, wasn't she also acting as if she was taking the hits as well?"

"You're right…" Tyson agrees. "But why…?"

...

A soft wind travels through the air almost silently, passing by a red haired youth clad in white and orange standing at the gates of a large mansion. He looks up through the distance as if able to see inside. Watching him with large, curious yet innocent golden eyes are a couple of kittens sitting at the window of one of the upstairs rooms. Though they've no clue why the familiar stranger stands there so, they continue to watch him. Eventually, after some time, he turns to leave but is stopped when he sees another youth with light blond hair clad in dark leather clothing. He eventually, silently walks pass the other stranger but stops shortly past him after the light blond one whispers something. Nonetheless, Tala kept moving away from the magnificent residence and the light blond stranger towards wherever he is headed.

...

Elsewhere, a figure draped in purple holds in his covered hands, a lifeless bundle with dark purple hair. Looking around through the cloth, the figure runs from the stone runes near him towards an unknown location.


	28. Arrangements

**CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT**

**~ Arrngements ~**

* * *

Lightning lit the skies and thunder roared loud and clear though the raging heavens. Storm clouds were thick and blanketed the sky, shielding the stars from sight. Footsteps treading on puddles sounded steadily this night, approaching a run down building. Once again the lightning lit and the thunder sounded, this time illumating the building for the two approaching it. The two of them stopped in front of a battered door and the taller of the two rang the doorbell furiously.

Inside the battered residence, a red headed Russian sat waiting as his two companions slept soundly in the other room. He could hear the thunder loud and clear through the loud and heavy rain outside and through the darkness of the apartment even see the lightning's flash. As he observes the silence and emptiness of the apartment, he is suddenly interrupted by a series of loud and ferocious doorbell rings, prompting him to go to the door and see who it is.

"Hey Tala, open the door!" a familiar voice called from outside. "I know you're in there still, open up."

Recognizing the owner of the voice and knowing that harm would not come to him or his companions, he opens the door to reveal a tall youth with two-toned hair and a golden haired girl standing beside him at his door.

"Kai…Lux…" he greets slightly surprised. Tala then steps aside for them, "Come in."

Acknowledging their permission to enter, Kai leads Lux inside with him. Tala then shows them to their seats on the beat down couch and then closes the door and locks it. He then turns to his visitors.

"So what brings you here?" Tala asks him, taking a seat on another piece of furniture.

"I need you to show me where the lab is." Kai answers straight forwardly.

"You do realize that going there could result in Lux getting captured, right?" Tala points out. "I mean, that lab is a possible center of operations for the people after her."

Lux swiftly turns to Kai, her eyes begginig him not to do something that would separate them.

It then hit Kai. He had known that the lab was likely a major center of operations for the men who had been chasing after Lux, yet in his hurry he trusted the information and instructions from Ventus. Nonetheless, he really cannot stay in Japan either. Not with Lux anyways. It was clear that the more recent bunch who are after her know she is here and could easily attack to her. He turns to her and gently strokes her hair to assure her that it will be ok.

"We'll still come with you to Russia." Kai decides.

"But why are you coming with us?" Tala asks.

"I met someone by the name Ventus." Kai answers him. "I don't necessarily trust his word on the lab, but I do know that Lux can't stay in this country any longer. She won't be safe here. I need to take her somewhere safer."

Tala thought to himself for a moment. The name Ventus indeed does ring a bell and Kai is correct, staying in Japan would be dangerous for Lux according to what he had been told just the day before.

"Fine." Tala tells Kai. "Come along with us."

Tala gets up from his seat and walks up to Kai and Lux.

"And about the lab, I'll scout the place myself to see if its safe or not before I bring you to it." Tala tells Kai. "If I don't make it back from there, make sure you got plans and the means to get Lux to another location."

Kai nods, in acknowledgement, acceptance and understanding of the terms his friend presents to him before turning to go, taking Lux with him.


	29. Harmless Curiosity

**I've been rather busy but enjoy the two chapters I've uploaded. Thanks again for support to all and please keep reading/reviewing!**

* * *

**CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE**

**~ Harmless Curiosity ~**

* * *

The time now reads seven fifty. Outside the glass windows of the airport, the skies appear clear and calm, yet strangely bland and dull. Passengers rush to board, some saying tearful goodbyes to their loved ones and others calmly handing in their tickets. A group of teenagers carrying very small amounts of luggage await their flight to be called in the corner near the bright yet dull windows. Of the five, two of them sit quietly while another two stand with their back against the wall that divides their section from the section adjacent. The two toned member of their group gazes outside, watching dispassionately as planes arrive and depart. A curious face framed in gold looks curiously around the building and tugs gently on the sleeve of the redhead sitting next to her to catch his attention.

Tala turns to Lux momentarily and answers her with a silent glance.

"What are all those shops over there?" She asks, her eyes burning with curiosity.

"They're souvenir shops. Why?" he replies without much thought.

Lux looks at the shops some more. "I want to go see the shops…"

"Our flight will be here soon, so I suggest you forget that idea." Tala replies softly.

He turns from her but continues to watch her a slight bit longer through the corner of his eye. He eventually turns his eyes away but his expression now bares a barely noticeable touch of melancholy as his thoughts wander to a time long before when he had heard similar words. He recalls the expression he had only just seen and thinks back to the young girl in his memory whose eyes bore that same expression of inquisitiveness so long ago. He turns back to her one more time to watch her, unaware that the two toned blue haired youth had shifted his gaze from the outside to the two of them.

Soon, Tala's thoughts are disrupted by the robot-like voice announcing their flight to Moscow. Lux looks to the stores one more time in longing curiosity before turning to line up with Kai and the Blitzkreig Boys to board their plane.

...

Meanwhile, in a dull warehouse seemingly ready to fall apart, a black clad youth lays atop some crates reading a magazine while his silent companion leans, eyes closed, in a corner. Sounds of construction are faintly audible in the distance and unable to disturb the two. The lightly glowing eyes of the reader stares motionless at the image and text covered page for a while. Unable to focus and tired from holding the booklet, Wyvynn slams the magazine aside and sits up.

"Something the matter?" Zane asks, his eyes still closed.

"No, nothing." Wyvynn replies.

"You're bothered by Lok's attitude, aren't you?" Zane continues. "You're thinking over what he said to us in the beginning and thinking about his current actions and his treatment of Sparky…aren't you?"

Wyvynn keeps his glance elsewhere. "Why would I bother to think that?"

Zane remains silent for a moment. "You're idealistic. That's why it bothers you. You saw how he lied to Lux to trick her to come with us and you wonder if or not he's lieing to you as well."

"Shut up, will ya?" Wyvynn says almost in a whisper.

Zane remains quiet but opens his eyes to gaze at the outside.

Wyvynn then jumps off the crate.

"I'm gonna go for a walk, 'kay?" Wyvynn mutters as he shuffles his feet toward the door.

Zane watches him go but returns to his previous position soon after.

...

The clouds hang low, covering the shining orb that has yet to cross the celestial meridian. Light rain has also started to fall, casting a silvery, wet veil over the city of Moscow. At the airport, the sounds of jet engines are audible as planes land and depart. A particular plane moves slowly as it closes in on a ready terminal. Momentarily after its halt, passengers begin to exit the winged vehicle at a slow pace. Five teenagers consisting of one female and four males exit together amongst this group, flowing slowly with the rest like leaves down a river to the baggage pick up and customs. As they move toward customs, glittering shops along the way catch the eye of the golden haired girl in their group. Almost automatically, she walks a little closer, tacitly expressing her desire to see the items there.

"Lux, we have to go through customs." Kai reminds her, taking hold of her arm gently.

Lux turns to him with a look of disappointment that immediately begins to soften his determination for them to move.

"She just wants to take a quick glance." Kai turns to Tala who then suggests, "If you're worried, one of us could just go with her."

Lux's face lit up upon hearing that.

Kai turns back to her and sighs, letting go of her arm.

Taking that as a sign of approval, Lux runs off toward the souvenir shops.

"She was always curious to see things that are sold in stores back then too..." Tala notes softly out loud.

Kai turns to him but soon refocuses again onto Lux to watch over her while she picks out a small stuffed cat off the shelf. He continues to watch as the shop owner approaches her to ask something likely typical of shop owners. Lux replies with some form of question and gets a reply. She then turns to Kai for a moment and then back to the stuffed toy. Interpretting this as she wants the toy, Kai approaches them.

"You want that right?" he asks her.

Lux nods but then quickly shakes her head instead causing Kai to be confused.

"Uhm...its ok!" she says, getting ready to put down the toy. "You've bought me a lot of things in the past when I went shopping with Hilary...so..."

"Here." Kai sighs softly and holds out his credit card to the shop owner.

Lux turns to him surprised.

"It's fine..." he tells her.

Lux stayed silent for a few moments unable to find words. She wholeheartedly appreciated his kindness towards her. Holding the small stuffed animal close to her, she softly utters,"Thank you"

After the purchase was complete, the two of them head back to the rest of their group to line up for customs. When that finished, they head toward the exit but as they do they are greeted by a short russian boy who shares a similar sense of style with Tala, Spencer and Bryan.

"Ian!" Tala looks at him with surprise. "What are you doing here? I thought I told you to hide from those goons."

"You said you guys would be coming back today so I came to get you" he replies with a friendly smile.

"But-" Spencer begins.

"But nothing, those guys' headquarters are toast. I'll explain later." Ian then turns to Lux. "Who's the girl?"

Lux stares back at him while holding onto the small toy Kai bought for her.

"Her name's Lux." Kai introduces her, seeing as she forgot to introduce herself.

This snaps Lux to attention.

"Uhm...It's very nice to meet you..." she says softly, trying to make up for her inattentiveness.

"I'm Ian, nice to meet you too." Ian returns. "Anyways let's head over to our temporary place"

"Temporary?" Kai questions.

"Our old place got stormed." Tala answers.

Satisfied, Kai move along with them, leading Lux along in the process.


	30. On the Move

**CHAPTER THIRTY**

**~ On the Move ~**

* * *

The sky is now calm but exhibits a cloudless blandness over a small cottage in a snowy field. The cottage made completely from wood show signs of age and appears as if long abandoned. Inside this cottage sat six individuals over a table. Steam from warm fluids served in bowls could be seen rising in the small cozy room. A serious air filled the room. The girl with golden hair amongst them takes a small sip of the fluid. Noting its taste and seemingly fond of it, she takes in a little more, careful not to consume too much for fear of being burned by the hot liquid.

"So about that lab..." Kai initiates.

"It's completely destroyed." Ian tells him.

"What happened?" Tala inquires.

"I was watching them one day from behind a snow ball I made to avoid detection. Some guys came by...five of them or so. They were kind of strange." Ian begins his story.

"Strange?" Kai takes note.

"They were all wearing dark cloaks." Ian goes on. "But one of them had this gigantic wing thing sticking out of his head."

Lux jerked her attention to him now and stopped sipping her borscht.

"The guy with the wierd wing went inside." Ian continues. "But then something sort of blew in there. He came back out flying and left with his group."

Silence dominated for a moment before Ian went on. "After that, all the usual helicopters that stopped by sort left it alone. One guy did come by but only occasionally."

The room was once again under an unseen veil of silence.

"What do you think, Kai?" Tala asks him.

"Oh yeah, one more thing I forgot." Ian suddenly recalls. "When I tried to go near it, sometime later, I remember there was this horrible smell...kinda like rotting flesh. I'm guessing people in there must've been dead or something. I turned away because of that though."

Lux turns to Kai, awaiting his decision.

After a long moment, Kai announces, "We'll head there to see what's up first thing tomorrow. For today, we should rest up and make some preparations."

All but Lux nod to comply. Lux watches as the others go off to do their own thing before returning to her unfinished borscht. She looks to the stuffed toy with an expression of concern.

Outside, Kai catches up with Tala and places a hand on his shoulder to catch his attention.

"Yeah?" Tala turns to him.

"I think you should tell Lux what you know about her." Kai states. "She deserves to know...about her past."

With that, Kai walked past Tala to train, leaving Tala behind to ponder silently on those words.

...

In Japan, the stars had rose and formed a glittery veil. Beneath it, in a neighborhood lined with old warehouses no longer in use, an aquamarine haired you clad in dark attire traipses almost in silence. He eventually chances the familiar unit he had been dwelling in and enters uneventfully through the front door. To his surprise, under the moonlight atop the tallest of crates stands an august demon awaiting him.

"Kai and Lux are nowhere to be found." Lok states in a dark, irritated tone.

Silence followed. Then came Zane's voice, "If I were Lux, after I left here, I'd no doubt return to Kai. Now if I were Kai, I'd likely take Lux as far from us as I can to keep her safe from harm until I can deal with the problem at hand."

Lok turns in Zane's direction. He then inquires in a menacing tone, "And if you were Kai, where would you have gone, Zane?"

"To somewhere familiar preferably." Zane replies.

A grin appears on Lok's pale face.

"World famous Kai Hiwatari…" Lok muses. "…former member of the Blitzkreig Boys of Russia. Yes, Russia. The two of you will bring me there."

"There's one more thing," Zane adds. "Something was up with Wyvynn's last trip. I believe Wyvynn can fill you in on the details."

The remark startles Wyvynn, snapping his attention to Zane then to Lok.

"Well?" Lok demands tacitly.

"Kull's body is missing at the altars." Wyvynn reports.

"…WHAT!" Lok zooms toward Wyvynn, grabbing him by the neck.

Wyvynn remains silent in his grip for a moment.

"Please…Lok…" Wyvynn says between breaths. "It's not my fault…this happened…I swear…"

Lok lets him down with a loud thump. Then without further movement, he addresses Zane. "Zane."

"Yes?" Zane replies as Wyvynn desperately tries to catch his breath. "You mentioned sometime earlier Ventus is in town. Why do you think Ventus still lingers here? Is he not originally from Sweden? He could have returned after those old fools were killed off. I'm sure he knew."

"Perhaps he had some business here." Zane politely replies.

"Yes…perhaps he is involved in this in one way or another…" Lok then begins to ascend. "The two of you will arrange to take me to Russia as soon as possible. Meanwhile I shall find Ventus..."


	31. Prophecy

**Sorry for the long wait, my professor gave me a stack of books for the summer...**  
**Anyway, enjoy the new chapter and reviews would be highly appreciated! Thanks to those who have been following!**

* * *

**CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE**

**~ Prophecy ~**

* * *

The morning was quiet and the sky was barely lit. Kai, Lux, Tala, Spencer, Bryan, and Ian traverse carefully in the terrain of melting snow. Above them, dawn slowly paints the sky with a soft rosy glow. The stars, once brightly spread across the clear night sky begin to fade into the light of daybreak.

Kai looks around his environment a bit. The entire place was barren of plant life save for a few small, barely noticeable shrubs poking out through the fading snow and permafrost. Fauna was certainly not going to be a common sight here; the entire scenery looked empty and had it not been for the current celestial phenomenon, it would look very much close to dead. Nonetheless, he treads on east with the rest of his former teammates and Lux.

Soon the sun began to peak out from the eastern horizon. Almost in line with it, a gigantic wreck begins to come into view ahead. Beginning to feel the need to be more cautious, the group stops for a moment and takes a look around. Lux, who had been walking behind everyone else could not help but stare at the wrecked metal behemoth ahead of them. It was a familiar sight, despite its current state. Although the last time she had set eyes on it was about nine months ago, she could still remember a small portion of her life there. The memory of her time living inside of the facility causes her to freeze with fright.

"Well this is it" Ian indicates after it becomes clear that no one is there but them. "That wrecked thing over there is where the lab was."

Ian had gotten everyone to focus their eyes on the wreckage ahead. Kai, from the corner of his eye notices Lux's uneasiness at the sight of the thing. Seeing her expression made him slightly more nervous as well but beyond this feeling, he wanted to sooth her anxiety. However with Tala and the others around, Kai could not bring himself to open his mouth to say anything so he simply took her hand in his as a way to show her his support. The simple action, having stopped Lux from her thoughts, causes the girl to turn to him as the rest of the pack began to move forward.

"Let's go," Kai leads the girl to follow the rest, still holding her hand.

Tala, having noticed the actions of the two behind him moves on with the rest pretending as if he had not perceived anything. He had noticed Lux's expression as well and also had the urge to do something for her but he hesitated and chose not to do anything.

Approaching the fallen behemoth now, the group looks around. From up close, the place looks nothing less than completely ruined. All windows were broken and the infrastructure of the building appeared torn by some violent force. The many towers and turrets around the main bulk of the structure have fallen, their remnants scattered about nearby. A sickening smell of rotting flesh was occasionally apparent. Any normal person passing by would've taken a route as far from it as possible, but Kai, remembering Ventus's words steps up closer to the wrecked facility and is soon greeted by a voice.

"I'm glad you could make it."

All eyes turn to the owner of the voice. A young man with light blond hair holding a large sack of items stood at what appears to be an entrance or exit to the dead structure. Tala recognizes him instantly as the one who he had briefly met outside of Kai's mansion. Not knowing who he is, the Blitzkrieg Boys react with a glint of hostility in their eyes while Kai remains calm. Lux could not help but stare at the blond young man. She remembers him. He was the one who had led her away from the scary building where they had done things to her that hurt her.

"Ventus…" Kai began to approach him. "So why did you tell me to come here?"

"If you want to know, come with me." Ventus tells them, beginning to lead them southward. He then addresses the Blitzkrieg Boys, "Don't worry, I'm no enemy of yours."

...

Elsewhere at this time, a moderate sized bird soars across the sky over a sunlit dojo. Sounds of a hardworking practitioner of kendo are audible in the grounds on the dojo amidst the cheerful chirping of birds. The warmth of late spring adds to the place a certain air of laxness and order.

Inside, in a certain well lit bedroom, loud snoring erupts periodically from Tyson, who is still asleep in his pajamas despite the late hour. He turns over, voicing his desire for mango mousse briefly in his sleep. As he starts snoring again, an envelope flies into the room, and hits the navy haired sleepy head in the nose, causing him to wake up briefly. He looks around sleepily to find no one inside and promptly falls back asleep without noticing the envelope.

...

Kai, Lux, Tala, Bryan, Spencer, Ian and Ventus stop just at the edge of a large clearing. The group at had walked southward in silence from the ruined lab for quite a while now. They have left the semi frozen tundra and entered a coniferous forest. Though they have not gone too far, the scenery here is quite different. Whereas the area around the lab was mostly void of life, this area is populated by many shrubs and evergreen trees as well as an occasional forest creature.

"We're here" Ventus announces.

The group looks around.

"You're probably wondering why I brought all of you here." Ventus begins. All eyes fell on Ventus now as he began to explain. "My intention in bringing you all here is to prepare you all in your upcoming battle against the King."

"The King?" Tala repeats. He remembers hearing the phrase when he saw Ventus muttering something to himself outside Kai's mansion. His fellow teammates look at one another equally puzzled and even less familiar with the phrase.

Seeing this and the obvious need for further explanation, Ventus goes on.

"The girl who has been living with Kai," he begins, refocusing the group. "She is my cousin and she was forced to become a specimen of the lab we had just came here from. The one known as the King is not very different."

All members of the Russian Beyblading team, including Tala, now have their eyes set on Lux, making the silent girl slightly more nervous.

Ventus continues. "Experiment No. 7 and Experiment No. 101 were the numbers assigned to them respectively. As for the King's real name, it's Lok Asenna. He has been active since the Blitzkrieg Boys' incident at the laboratory grounds and Kai's meeting with Lux."

"Active doing what?" Tala questions.

"For example, laying ruin to the laboratory we had just walked here from." Ventus answers. "Kai and Lux experienced some of his other activities first hand as well."

"By any chance…does he have a wing sticking out of his head?" Ian asks.

Ventus replies with a nod. The Russian team to whom this is all new information is frozen by what they have just heard.

"What in the world did they do to him in there…?" Spencer reacts astounded by the information.

"I could tell you but I think that's something best left out for now." Ventus resumes, "The King, or Lok, from what I know of him, is completely insane at this point. His mind was warped since his time in the laboratory, mostly as a result of his rage and the changes to his body. Whereas the guys who ran the lab wanted a means for world domination, Lok is simply intent on its destruction."

"And how is he planning on doing that?" Kai inquires.

"Lux and Lok…both possess augmented souls; they are both Magnanimae."

Lux's grip on Kai hand tighten slightly, causing him to turn to her.

"And?" Tala urges him.

"A seer once prophesized that an age will come when seven Magnanimae will awaken all at once." Ventus continues, "She called these seven The King, the Sage, the Dragon, the Urchin, the Knight, the Witch and the Princess. In her vision, the seer foresaw a gathering of these Magnanimae at a place called the Temple of Ouroboros and the consequence of it as well as a way to avoid it."

"Consequence?"

"The union of the Magnanimae's souls allow one of two rituals to be performed and completed." Ventus explains. "One of them summons and restores all fragments of any spirit or soul to their original form. The other ritual however, will directly grant the wishes of one of the Magnanimae at the cost of all seven of their lives."

Ventus pauses to allow his audience to take in the information. Seeing as no one has any questions, he goes on. "The King, when he was a specimen in the laboratory made a deal with a rather dangerous bitspirit that was also a specimen of the lab. The goals of the two are in fact exactly the same, hence their partnership."

Kai remembers the bitbeast fragment in Lux's launcher now and Ozuma's story. It was beginning to all connect now.

"The King intends to restore the bitbeast Psyche to her original form. In her restored form, Psyche has the power to extend parts of herself to all other bitbeasts around the world from the Temple of Ouroboros. She only needs to feed on the soul of one Magnanimae to do this. In doing so, she will gain control of every bitbeast in the world and their powers. If she feeds on all seven of the Magnanimae…"

Kai holds Lux's hand in a protective grip now. Lux looks up at him and remembers her experiences with Kull and when she had been led to the warehouse.

"You said your intention in bringing us here was to prepare us for the battle against the King." Kai let's go of Lux's hand and steps forward from the back of the group.

Ventus nods. "In particular, Lux's innate abilities as a Magnanimae must be unlocked to succeed. It is my intention that all of you here will aid in accomplishing that goal. Her abilities will be an essential asset to that of your own if we are to succeed, Kai."

Kai looks to Lux. Her face shows an unmasked and honest display of uncertainty.

"If I unlock those abilities…" All eyes turn to her now. Lux looks up at Ventus. "Does this mean for sure that all this will be stopped…that I can go back to the way I had been living?"

There is a long silence.

Finally, Ventus breaks it. "There is no guarantee for anything in the future. Maybe by some twist of fate, Lok will regain his sanity and stop all this. However, the chances of that are slim. You can keep running away from this with Kai, but you will not be able to run forever."

Tala watches Lux, his expression showing his concern for her and his frustration with himself manifests in his clenched fist. He relaxes it however and gently makes his way to her. Kai sees this but does nothing to stop him; it would be best for Lux if Tala eventually got a chance to tell her about her past.

Tala puts his hand on her shoulder. "It's ok. If you do agree to do this, I don't know about Bryan, Spencer and Ian…but I know at least I will support you through it… and I'm sure Kai would too."

Lux looks to Kai and he nods at Tala's words. She looks around more and seeing the support she is getting, she makes her decision.

...

The quiet residential neighborhood glow with a golden hue as the sun is descending from its perch in the sky. The place was quiet, especially in a certain room in a certain dojo. Tyson, now fully dressed reads the letter he found in his bedroom, his eyes showing a serious attitude in regard to the contents of the note. His door is slammed open, though not harshly, but with a serious force. He turns to see an equally serious Ray, Max, Daichi, Hilary and Kenny. In each of their hands is a note identical to the one he received.

The notes read:

"Member of the Bladebreakers, by the time you have received this, Kai and Lux will no longer be in the country. I have enclosed an airline ticket as well as some relevant information you may want to know."

...

Assembled under the same twilight, a one winged being stands tall over his two remaining subjects.

"Have you finished making arrangements for me to travel to Russia?" Lok asks the two before him.

"Yes, I have." Zane replies. "We depart tomorrow at noon."


	32. Exchange

**Thank you to all those who have been following the story again! Feedback would be very welcome! **

* * *

**CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO**

**~ Exchange ~**

* * *

The sky was brightly lit despite the time of day. Colorful combinations of oranges, reds and pinks were beginning to decorate the early evening skies. It has already been three days since Kai, Lux and the Blitzkrieg Boys have begun to train under the direction and supervision of Ventus. During these three days Kai could not help but notice he had somehow mysteriously acquired a great deal of power. His Dranzer had been moving faster and generally had a noticeably stronger momentum than it did the last time he had used it. His ability to control his blade was also much better than before when he had battled Ventus. He found all this very strange but however, as the change was not for the worse, he simply took note of it and did not care for the cause.

Five beyblades spun across the field in whatever direction they pleased. The group's training have resulted in a good deal of damage to the trees at the edge of the clearing. Luckily for them, they were able to keep the trees from falling in ways that would get in their way. Right now, Ventus and all four of the Blitzkrieg Boys are focusing on improving Lux's evasion both in person as well as in beyblading. Kai stood watching them on the sidelines, his blade ready in case it was needed. Lux had made noticeable improvements with each passing day. Although it has been a while since she had learned to blade and she clearly had talent for it, it was the first time she had trained so intensely to get better at it. One of the improvements she had made is to take a step to get out of the way if a blade was flying in her direction. Previously, should someone attack her, she could only stand there and wait for someone to block the attack for her but now, she had learned to get over her fear of fast incoming objects and move. Her evasion in beybattles seem to have greatly improved as well. Her control over her blade however still seem to be a little lacking.

"Stop," Ventus calls. "That's enough. We're going to work on her attack next and hopefully if we're lucky it might improve her control as well. Before that, let's have a 30 minute break."

With that, Ventus walks off to parts unknown. Kai leans back against a nearby tree behind him while Bryan, Spencer and Ian decide to take a stroll around. Lux smiles cheerfully, glad to be allowed to have some rest. She turns to Kai and takes a seat quietly next to him on the ground. Tala sees this and decides to walk off with the rest of his team.

Kai, now left alone with Lux turns to her to find that the tired girl has dozed off. He was not surprised by this one bit. The group had been waking up every day at the crack of dawn to travel to this spot to train and the training did not end until dusk. While it was nice that Ventus arranged for all of them to stay at a fancy hotel in a nearby city, the fact remains that they have been training for long periods each day so far.

...

Tala walks quietly with the rest of his team. Although his home country was renowned for its harsh winters, the weather at this time of year so close to summer is generally much more enjoyable. Still he could not completely relax. The thought of telling Lux about their past still looms in his mind and there has been one other thing he could not help but notice lately about Kai. While it was no surprise to him that Lux's eyes held an unusual glow, lately, whenever he saw Kai blade, he could not help but notice a similar glow appear in his left eye. At first he thought maybe it had just been a trick of the light, but it has been three days of this.

"Hey any of you guys notice something about Kai lately?" Tala asks, breaking the silence between them.

"What do you mean?" Spencer asks.

"The last three days of training," Tala begins, "I don't know if it's just me, but, I've been seeing a strange glow in Kai's left eye. I don't know if he's aware of it himself."

"Now that you mention it, I do remember seeing something like this. I thought it was just my eyes playing tricks on me though." Bryan then remarks, "Only those who were experimented on in that laboratory were supposed to have glowing eyes, right?"

"I've seen it too," Ian adds. "I wasn't sure what it was so I kept my mouth shut."

"Hmm…" Tala now considers bringing this up to Kai but ultimately decided not to dig his nose in. If there was a need for him to know, he was sure that Kai would tell him about it anyway.

...

Training soon resumed and it seems that only one person would be needed to train Lux for improving her attack. The choice of blader was not a hard one either, several people in the group volunteered to be Lux's opponent and in the end they decided that it would be fine to just take turns blading with her. The hard part was getting Lux to stop evading and start attacking. The girl simply did not have a strong desire to hit any one of her friends, hence the strength of her attacks have been mediocre in comparison to what she has shown possible in the past.

Two more rounds went by with almost no improvement. Kai was getting tired of watching, for it was becoming more and more of a game of cat and mouse. The same could be said of Spencer, Bryan and Ian. Tala and Ventus seem to have more patience however.

"Come on, Lux, stop running from me and attack back already." Spencer was getting tired of chasing after her all over the field.

Lux hit back with her silver blade but not very hard.

"I think she needs a little push." Ian comments. "Anyone got ideas?"

Silence followed. Kai had been with her for over a month now and if she showed any hint of anger ever, it was not towards her friends. In fact, the innocent girl had been very docile in temperament almost all the time.

Tala on the other hand sat deep in thought. He had known the girl for a small amount of time as well a long time ago. It then hit him. There was a way to get her to focus, but there is a chance it might not work now. Nonetheless, he gets up from his seat on the log and walks up to Spencer and signaled Spencer to lend him an ear.

Kai watched Tala's actions puzzled, as did Bryan and Ian. They could not begin to imagine what Tala is telling Spencer but when he finished, Spencer's expression gave the guys on the sidelines hope that the day's training might end soon.

"Hey, Lux." Spencer turns to Lux.

Lux turns from her blade to him. Just as she does, Spencer sends his blade in Kai's direction, narrowly missing his head by about a few centimeters, causing both the girl and Kai to become alarmed. A confused Kai turn to Spencer wondering what in the world Tala must've told him.

"Either you start learning to attack seriously or it'll be in Kai's face next move I make." Spencer tells her. His teammates look at each other and Tala signals to them through his expression that there is nothing to worry about. The golden haired girl looks at Spencer confused.

"But…I thought…" she begins.

"But nothing! I don't like this game of cat and mouse." Spencer pretends to try to hit Kai again. Kai easily dodges, having caught on to the idea by now as well.

Now confused, Lux resolves to stop Spencer's blade. She begins to attack more furiously but while her attack frequency is quite high, much higher than the average blader, her attack power is still not as strong as it can be. Spencer attempts to evade her now instead; the roles of cat and mouse seem to have reversed.

"I'm gonna hit Kai again!" Spencer taunts her. His teammates sitting on the side now try to suppress their amusement. For them it, was a cheap act after all.

Spencer sends his blade speeding towards Kai, who is ready to dodge when it is close enough.

"Elfe!" Lux calls to her blade.

Despite it being a mock battle for the sake of training, the intensity on Lux's side is increasing. Kai once again dodges Spencer's Seaborg blade. Spencer turns his blade around and attempts to make another attack however.

Although still confused, Lux desires only one thing at this moment and that is for the attacks on Kai to stop. "Elfe!"

Everything was white. It was not the first time either. Lux felt an influx of words and knowledge enter her mind and for the current situation, it was useful. Once Lux returned to the present world, she knew how to stop Spencer.

"Elfe, Arrow Rain!" she commanded.

Elfe emerged from the silver blade, clad in majestic armor. A bow appeared in her hand and she shot a single arrow from it before both the silver beyblade and herself disappear from sight. As Spencer's blade heads for Kai, a single arrow of light fell from the sky followed by many more. Watching carefully, it was clear that the "arrows" were really Lux's beyblade moving at unimaginable speeds. The overwhelming assault stopped Seaborg cold in its tracks, leaving it completely still, even sustaining some noticeable damage.

Lux watch confused as those sitting on the log at the side of the clearing cheered for her. She turns back to Spencer who no longer show any hint of hostility.

"Great job, there." Spencer compliments her on her newly learned move.

Lux looks at him confused some more.

"It was just a way to motivate you to attack harder. Sorry we had to resort to that…" Spencer tells her.

Although normally hard to anger, Lux was sure angry now. She had thought Spencer was really going to attack Kai afterall. A little upset by what they did, she turned from them and began to walk away. Kai now, free from having to dodge Spencer's blade turned to Tala and gave him a look of annoyance. However, since things all turned out for the better, he simply went off after Lux.

"There's something important I must announce." Ventus gets off the log.

Lux and Kai stop in their tracks and turn back.

"Kai, as you know, Lok has been keeping an eye on Lux." He begins. "I'm sure by now he'd have noticed you are gone."

"And?"

"It's practically public knowledge that you have friends in Russia." Ventus looks over to Tala and his team. He continues. "I've already made travel arrangements for all you, but the choice is yours if you want to come. Lux, Kai and I will definitely have to go to Sweden."

The Blitzkrieg Boys look at one another. Originally they had thought this training was only going to be in Russia. Tala looks to Lux, and thinks back to his past.

"We'll I'm in." Tala volunteers to follow them. His example leads his teammates to do the same however.

"If Tala's going then we will too." Bryan joins in.

"Then it's decided. We'll pack up as soon as we get back to the hotel."

...

Tyson stretches as he steps out of the plane. Behind him, he is joined by Kenny, Max, Ray, Daichi and Hilary. The group looks around for directions. They had been on a long plane ride to Moscow and it was good that they will finally have a break to stretch their legs.

"Hm…the directions say we are to transfer to a different plane…" Kenny looks around for the gate information. "…and that plane leaves in three hours from now."

"That's great," Ray comments. "We have three whole hours to rest up before our connecting flight."

"Alright! Who's up for some food?" A cheerful Tyson runs off.

"Tyson you just ate before you got off the plane!" Hilary screams after him.

"Wait for me!" Daichi joins him, the two running off together to the food court.

"They sure are energetic." Max remarks.

As the rest of the team watches the two dash off, two dark clad youths who appear older by perhaps just a year or so head off to the baggage claim behind them.

"The Bladebreakers are here." Wyvynn whispers in a low voice to his pink haired companion.

"Then that just means there's a high probability either they are searching for Kai and Lux also or Kai informed them of his location." Zane whispers back to the youth with ice-blue hair. "And chances are, Ventus is here as well."

Wyvynn looks back to the bladebreakers, his iridescent cobalt eyes meeting that of Ray's momentarily.

"Come, we have to pick Lok up and go through customs." Zane reminds him, his own iridescent orange eyes following Wyvynn's movements.

...

Much time has elapsed and the clocks now read five to ten. A flight attendant stands at the entrance to the jetway, and the other passengers have appeared to begin lining up for boarding. Deciding it was about time, the Bladebreakers get up as well to begin boarding. The process was smooth and soon each of them found themselves seated in the front of the economy class section. It would seem that nothing out of the ordinary would occur.

Tyson and Daichi found themselves in a fight again; Daichi wanting to claim the window seat from Tyson and Tyson defending it from him. The situation provoked a scolding from Hilary.

"Hey Daichi, if you want I can switch seats with you." Max offers his window seat to the dissatisfied little red head.

"Really?" Daichi looks at him delighted.

"Yeah," Max nods.

Ray sighs at the thought of having Daichi sit next to him but he might as well just stay quiet. His mood changes however when a familiar voice behind him becomes audible.

"Excuse me, sorry…" Lux says to all the people in the aisle as she, Kai, Tala, Bryan, Spencer, Ian, and Ventus are passing through.

"Lux! Kai!" Ray calls to them with a smile. "And…Tala?"

Tyson, Max, Daichi, Hilary and Kenny turn to see them.

"Ray!" Lux greets him, surprised to see him. "And everyone else too!"

"I didn't expect to see you guys here." Ray says.

"Yeah, what are you guys doing here" Tyson greets them.

"We're going to Stockholm, if the destination of the flight is not obvious enough." Kai answers him.

"We've got to get to our seats before we end up delaying the flight." Tala reminds them. "We can all chat later."

"Ok, we'll see you after we get off the plane." Max says as they continue moving to the front of the plane.

"By the way, where are you guys sitting?" Daichi asks them, a curious look on his face with his hands glued to the plane's window, clearly appreciating the seat change.

"We're sitting in the first class section." Lux replies with a smile, before leaving the section with the rest, completely unaware of the impact this information would have.

Daichi's jaw dropped and silence followed momentarily as Tyson, Max, Ray, Hilary and Kenny braced for what was to come.

"NO FAIR! I WANT TO RIDE IN FIRST CLASS TOO!"

...

The flight finally takes off and the night more or less ends. Wyvynn and Zane stands outside a giant wreck in wait. They have traveled a long way to get here and it took another long few hours to finally get to this place. The entire place around the laboratory appear dead and for the two outside, there was nothing to do. Lok had spread his particle probes around the place and gone inside the lab to search the place. The two of them were left outside. Wyvynn yawns, exhausted. If he was traveling alone, he would've taken at most two hours to get here from Japan.

"He'll be done soon." Zane tells him. "Just wait another ten minutes. I can tell he's making his way out."

"That's what you said ten minutes ago and the ten minutes before that." Wyvynn was not buying that line anymore. "I don't know how much more of this I can take. I need a nap."

"You will not be napping." A cold voice snaps from a door to the place. Lok holds out his hand and catches a small iridescent particle. "Ventus, Kai and Lux were here but they are not here anymore."

Lok walks slowly closer to them. "Wyvynn. Ventus and Lux both has roots in Sweden. I want you to find them and try to keep track of their location."


	33. Lux's Condition

**CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE**

**~ Lux's Condition ~**

* * *

The azure skies were clear and glowed brightly. The sun's beams were dazzling. Birds flew in small groups; their chirping was lively and pleasant. Stretching as far as the eye could see was greenery, in every direction. It would seem the Bladebreakers and the Blitzkrieg Boys have walked into an endless, picturesque arrangement of formal and landscape gardens. So far, the two teams have toured through quite a few formal gardens with flowers in every color of the rainbow arranged into elaborate, symmetric designs. They've also toured quite some landscape gardens on the estate that were decorated with beautiful fountains, sculptures and gazebos. The tour guide, or the butler who is in charge of the estate is a spectacled man in his fifties dressed in black formal attire with greying hair, a well kept mustache and a small beard. As he leads the group through the estate grounds, he tells the history behind the various monuments and sculptures as ordered to do so by his master.

"…and this here is the oldest landmark on the estate. This was made some five hundred years ago by a talented artisan in the family…" he goes on, caring very little of the group's interest in the mansion's history.

Ray stops and looks around as the butler continues to speak. He was still in awe at how extravagant the Alfhild's main estate is and at the history of the Alfhild family. Max, equally in awe bumps into him lightly by accident, not having noticed that Ray had stopped.

"Oops, sorry about that," Max apologizes.

"No problem" Ray responds. He then catches sight of Tyson, Hilary, Kenny and Daichi. The four of them are so flabbergasted by the estate's grandeur that they have not started a fight since they began the tour. The group had only arrived here some hours ago. They had gotten to Stockholm the night before and had stayed at a hotel in the city for the night.

Looking around some more, it would seem even Tala, Bryan, Spencer and Ian are impressed by what they saw. The only one in the group in sight who does not appear to be in awe is Kai who, as the heir to Hiwatari Enterprise, has a couple of estates himself, albeit none not as rich in history.

Ray then looked over to Lux. While most others were enjoying the view and curious to see more, she was not much more impressed than Kai was. In some ways, this was understandable. It was more than just that Lux had lived with Kai at his mansion or that this whole place now belongs to her. While the latter did impress her when she had been informed of it earlier, the amount of knowledge she possessed of this world altogether was limited to the nine months of memories she has. Presenting a mansion to Lux would not be very different from serving haute cuisine to a small, young child. Just as to the child, gourmet and street food are both just food, to Lux, the mansion and any normal house would have just been a place of residence; the difficulty of preparation, or in this case, construction, expenses and design are not known to her.

Lux looks around and spots a small pond. Quietly, without disturbing the others, she wanders there and gazes into the pond. The entire scenery here was very beautiful and Lux loved the way the place looks very much. Beyond her liking of the place however is the familiarity it carried in almost every place she has stepped foot in so far. It certainly felt as if she had been here before. Both Ventus and her butler have said this is where she lived before the incident in Russia. The photos of her when she was young is strong evidence that she did in fact live here in her childhood; she even remembered seeing some parts of the mansion in the photos from before. However, she still could not recall even the slightest thing about her past.

Lux turns to see that the others are continuing along on their tour. She did not want to continue with them. She watched them go and then sat down on the grass by the pond. A gentle breeze picked up the ends of her hair and caused some ripples to appear in the water. Lux watched the water's movements without expression. Today she had just learned the names of her mother and father and ascertained that the name on the little book and card she was given nine months ago at the airport in Russia is indeed her real name. She takes out the little book and opens it.

"Lux Alfhild…" she reads outloud the name printed on it. She looks up from it and continues gazing at the pond.

...

The butler continues showing off the gardens and grounds to the group of guests his masters had brought home. Kai, turns to see that Lux is no longer following them. In fact, the girl was nowhere in sight. Believing she must have strayed from the group somewhere in the last place they were at, he leaves the group quietly to go look for her. As he does, a maid approaches the butler from the direction in which they were heading. Kai stops to see what is going on She tells him something quietly and then the butler and maid turn to the teens, searching for someone.

"I don't believe she's here." The butler tells her.

"I see…" the maid looks around, unsure what to do next.

Pretty sure that they were looking for Lux, Kai approaches the maid. "Are you looking for Lux?"

"Ah, yes," the maid replies politely. "Master Ventus has asked me to bring her to him at the main library."

The group remains quiet; no one knows where she had gone.

"I think she was still with us when we were looking at that five hundred year old sculpture in the landscape garden." Ray recalls.

Remembering that it wasn't very far away, Kai sprints off to go find her.

...

The way back to the sculpture did not take long. Kai looks around the place and notices a small pond some distance away. Before it lay the golden haired girl that he had been looking for. Relieved that she was fine, he approaches her calmly. As he approaches her, he notices she seems to be asleep. For some reason she is holding her passport but that isn't what matters now. He is going to have to wake her up.

"Lux," Kai calls her as he gently scoops her into his arms. There was no response. Then Kai notices something odd. She was breathing rather irregularly and her body seems rather warm. He then thinks to himself, 'Is she tired from traveling?'

Kai shakes her gently. He then calls her name again, "Lux, wake up."

The others have almost caught up now and are approaching them quickly.

"Kai, you found her?" Max shouts from the distance as he comes up with the others.

Kai was in no mood to bother replying. He pressed his hand gently but firmly on Lux's forehead and then felt his own forehead. There was no doubt about it; the girl definitely had a fever and it was a very high one. He picked her up in his arms as gently as he could and ran. There is only one person he knows of who might know what is wrong with her.

Tyson and the others watch as Kai ran off towards the mansion carrying Lux in his arms.

"I wonder what's gotten into him…" Tyson wonders out loud.

"Look closely, Tyson, he's carrying Lux off to the mansion as fast as he can," Bryan points out. "…and we all know Lux can walk."

"Yeah, what are you getting at?" Tyson asked, feeling as if Bryan was insulting his intelligence.

"It means something must be wrong with Lux." Ray explains to him.

"I wonder what could have happened to her…" Hilary shows her concern for her friend.

...

Ventus sat at a large, well-furnished desk. Behind him, the setting sun casts a vivid orange glow through the room's main window. The other walls in the room are lined with towering shelves, all filled with a variety of books. There is even a second level to this room that is filled with just as many books as the level below it if not more. On the screen on the laptop on the desk, a popup appears followed by a small ringing. Ventus turns to it from the window and presses a button on the keyboard of the laptop. A figure in a purple hood shows up on the screen.

"Yes?" Ventus asks the figure.

"I have removed the Urchin's body from the altar." Traumgeber reports.

"Good work. Now lay low until I give you further orders." Ventus tells him before closing the window.

Right after he does, the door is kicked open rather violently. Kai walked in hastily right after with Lux in his arms. The sight, a cause of concern to Ventus, prompts him to get off his seat to receive the two who just entered. Kai sets her down onto a couch in the room.

"I found her laying…by the pond in the back…" Kai says while still catching his breath. He had ran all the way from the pond and up the stairs as well. "She has a very high fever."

"I guess it's about time then…" Ventus says as he goes over to summon a servant.

"About time for what?" Kai asks as Ventus rings a bell on the wall.

"See, I've told you before that Bizmark and Dr. Vaniard did a number on her body…" Ventus begins explaining. "A number of substances introduced into her system were meant to enhance her physical performance. Some were meant to accelerate her learning speed as well."

"And?"

A servant appears at the door. Ventus turns to her, "Bring the medication to me."

"Some of the substances used naturally occur in the human body while others do not." Ventus continues. "The ones that did naturally occur would normally not be a threat. However…"

Lux stirs a little, causing the other two to turn to her. She begins to open her eyes a little. Kai holds her hand in his and gently brushes some of her hair from her face.

"…in Lux's case, there is an unnaturally high concentration of these substances in her body. On top of this, most of the other substances that do not normally occur in the human body are toxic to normal humans beings and cannot be processed in the liver."

The servant reappears carrying with her a small kit. She handed the kit to Ventus and then at Ventus's signal, left the room.

"As you know, too much of anything is usually not a good thing." Ventus sets the kit onto the desk and opens it. "In Lux's case, all of this should have resulted in a very severe case of poisoning and death."

Ventus takes out a needle and carefully attaches it onto a plastic tube. He then pokes into a small bottle containing some transparent liquid with it and slowly extracts the medication from it.

"Remember the nanomachines I told you about?" Ventus asks Kai as he continues to prepare the medication.

"What about them?" Kai asks.

"Those were what kept her alive all this time." Ventus, now finished, walks over to Lux. "They mostly just accelerate healing, but that's precisely what they do whenever she goes to sleep each night."

Kai watches as Ventus takes Lux's hand from him and gently began to inject the liquid into her.

"The extra substances remain in the body and cause her to feel extremely sick. The nanomachines are what restores her health each night and maintain her so she does not feel sick or die from poisoning." Ventus finishes the injection and seals the wound with a band-aid. "The down side is that her condition is stable only if there are enough nanos in her and so she must receive an injection of them at least once a year. I only have a small stash of them here that I stole before Lok broke out of the lab with the remaining supply of them. I have the formula for reproducing them, though, so if needed, I can have more of these produced until I find a way to restore her to normal."

Kai watches as Lux closes her eyes again to sleep. However, she soon opens them again, wide and bulging as she begins to experience an unbearable pain throughout her body. She rolls off the couch she had been laying on and curls into a ball, her screams loud and horrific. Kai is shocked by her sudden condition but soon gets over it and tries to hold her to calm her down, but in vain.

"It's a side effect of replenishing the nanomachines. Her old nanos do not immediately recognize her new ones, so they behave erratically and cause her pain for a while." Ventus tells him. "Pain medications and tranquilizers alike have been used to try to reduce the effect but in the past, they've only been shown to make it worse for her due to interaction with the nanos."

"Make…this…go…a..away…" Lux begs Kai weakly as she shakily grabs onto the bottom of Kai's pants with one hand while she clutches her body with her other hand. Her nails are digging into her own skin and her normally cheerful voice was desperate. "…please…."

Kai turns to Ventus. Knowing what Kai will ask of him, Ventus says, "There is nothing I can do to make the pain stop; she will have to bear with it until the nanos synchronize fully. If the nanos were given to her at an earlier time, she'd have had a better time with the synchronization but the last time I tried to administer the nanos, I was interrupted."

Kai turns back to the girl on the floor. "How long will she have to endure this for?"

"Usually about a few hours" Ventus tells him. "The synchronization itself is not what takes long; its the need to heal any damaged tissue that was caused by the initial contact between her old and new nanos that require time."

Lux begins to relax. It would seem she has fallen unconscious from the pain.

Ventus then bends down to pick his cousin up from the ground. "Come, let's take her to her room. During the next few hours you should be careful not to let anyone or anything wake her up or she might be in pain again."


	34. The Light of the Phoenix

**CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR**

**~ The Light of the Phoenix ~**

* * *

The sky was a dark shade of blue still. There was barely enough light to illuminate the picturesque gardens of the Alfhild estate. The birds have yet to begin their morning chorus but a blue blade soars through the landscape garden anyway.

Kai stood still, his bangs covering his eyes. He had not slept during the night at all. There was no way he could; he had way too much on his mind. After he and Ventus had taken Lux to her room, he sat at her bedside and quietly stayed beside her. She had woken up on her own twice over the night. She was much calmer than she had been in the afternoon but was still in a weakened state none the less. At the very least, the nanos in her seem to have calmed down and she was no longer in much pain.

Kai watched as Dranzer began to lose spin. He had been standing there for quite a while now without re-launching his blade as his thoughts recycled themselves in his mind. He knew all along that Lux was an experimental subject; he knew from the moment he first saw her eyes that something was different about her physiologically. Despite this, he cannot help but be affected by what she had gone through right in front of his eyes and the information that Ventus had given him upon his request of it while the two were bringing her to her room.

When Kai had asked Ventus what had been done to Lux at the laboratory, Ventus listed a total of twenty five different chemical compounds that had been injected into her. He also noted that, since she had been a rather kind hearted and willful girl, her memory was also erased with the highest frequency out of all the Magnanimae to avoid conflict with the intentions of the executives who ran the place. The most shocking piece of information to Kai was that their experiments have caused not only Lux, but all of the Magnanimae to grow a pair of wings from somewhere on their body. In Lux's case, they were on her back and in Lok's case, on his head. According to Ventus, complications that resulted from genetic mutations in the cells that constituted their wings eventually threatened their lives. So, with the exception of the Lok whose only had a problem in one wing, they all had both their wings removed surgically. Since anesthetics and analgesics were shown to have the opposite effect, the operations were performed without any application of them. For Lux, this was the one memory that the scientists did not want to completely erase from her mind as it can provide an additional means of control over her. For Lok, this was what triggered his insanity. This piece of information had made Kai sick. Dranzer, too, has lost most of its spin now.

Kai recalls Lux's voice when she had begged for the pain to go away. Her voice, much in contrast to her normally cheerful, clueless and somewhat childlike tone, was weak, desperate and shaking. He wanted nothing more at that moment than to have been able to do something to ease her suffering and he was angry that he couldn't.

He then remembers all the times he had seen her dance blissfully oblivious to her situation on the flowerbeds, her silly attempts to catch butterflies, the tune that she would sing when they walked home together in the sunset and her generally sincere nature. Dranzer's spin grows stronger now, a spark of flames igniting around it as Kai tightens his fist.

He next recalls the images he had seen on Kenny's laptop of her life before all of this - the innocent young girl hugging her golden retriever, the playful young girl who dumped paint on her cousin, and the beloved young daughter of a small, warm, loving family. He grits his teeth.

"Lux did nothing to deserve any of this…"

Dranzer spins fiercely, summoning violent flames as the phoenix within responded to Kai's anger. The sound of footsteps on the grass becomes audible as its owner approaches Kai. Not wanting to show his emotions to anyone, Kai pauses his technique and recalls Dranzer to him.

Kai did not bother to turn around. He knew who it was who had approached him. The sky begins to brighten and soon the birds began their morning concert.

"I have one question, Ventus," Kai does not bother to turn around to face him.

Ventus is silent.

"When you found her at that lab, why didn't you stop them?"

Silence followed for a short while.

"I had also wished that I could have done something at one point." Ventus turns to leave. He stops however to say one more thing. "Kai, beware the actions of the Schneifel Corporation. A contact of mine notified me a little earlier of their connections to the lab in Russia."

Kai grips Dranzer tightly as Ventus left.

...

Some hours pass by and the sky soon lit up more, giving the gardens of the estate a radiant, sprightly charm. The two teams have now assembled at a small amphitheater-like structure in one of the landscape gardens to practice. Kai sat on the sloping grass farther from the rest of the group than anyone else. He watches as the two teams battle one another and fool around almost carelessly while quieter and more mature members of both teams did more watching than participating. Everyone, having been made aware of Lux's need for rest last night did their best to avoid making noise to the extent that they separated Tyson, Hilary and Daichi as a precaution.

Kai watches as Tyson's loud mouth provokes Bryan into a challenge. From another direction, Ventus approaches them and begins to watch as Dragoon and Falborg lock and grind fiercely against one another.

"Come on Dragoon!" Tyson watches his beyblade move with glee. He is confident that he will win.

"Falborg!" Bryan calls to his blade.

"Careful you guys, I don't want to have to completely rebuild your blades from scratch!" Kenny warns the both of them.

"Aw, come on, just let them at it." Max chimes in. "Besides, there's more than enough parts to spare."

"A tune up can't hurt either of them" Dizzi joins in.

Dragoon and Falborg have moved from each other and are chasing after or encircling each other. Soon they lock onto each other again unaware of the pair of iridescent eyes belonging to an ice-blue haired youth that are watching all this some distance away from behind a tree.

"Miss Lux, you should stay in bed a little longer…" a voice sounds from not too far behind Kai.

Kai turns around to see Lux approaching, partially dressed, wearing only her bell and ribbon, tank top, skirt, stockings and a pair of slippers. The maid who had called to her catches up to her now with a robe for her.

"Its ok," Lux tells the maid with a smile, accepting the robe she offered anyway. "I'm feeling much better now."

Ventus turns to them and signals for the maid to go. The maid obeys and leaves. Lux takes a seat next to Kai to watch Tyson's informal match with Bryan. Kai could not take his eyes off her as he is reminded of the information that Ventus had told him. Quietly, he searches her partially exposed back with his eyes looking for any scars that might either prove or disprove Ventus's words.

"Kai?" Lux calls him, curious as to what it was he was looking at. Her hair had moved a little from her back as she had turned.

Kai turns to her and meets her inquiring eyes.

"Is something on my back?" she asks.

Kai then spots it. Still partially covered by her hair and the robe that hung loosely around her arms is a large but otherwise barely noticeable "Λ" shaped scar. In some ways it was no surprise he never knew it was there; that part of her back was usually covered by her clothing or hair. As he becomes fixated upon it, Lux looks over her shoulder to see for herself. Remembering that Ventus had told him never to bring up the information to her, Kai quickly pulls Lux's robe up more to hide it.

"You should be careful so you don't catch a cold." He tells her to cover up his actions.

She looks at him and blinks as he turns away, baffled by his actions. "But…it's not cold…today…"

"Still." Kai insists, keeping his eyes focused the other way.

Lux continues to look at him for a small while but then decides he probably was just looking out for her and smiles as she continues watching Tyson and Bryan's match. Soon the match concludes and the butler from the day before returns with two maids, each with a serving cart filled with a variety of appetizers, sandwiches, and traditional Swedish dishes. The servants then set up a picnic and served the food.

"Well doesn't that look like a lot of fun…" Wyvynn comments to himself as they begin their midday feast.

He watches as an eager Tyson and a just-as-eager Daichi begins to consume the food at an incredible rate. Not too far from them, the primary target of his mission shyly takes a small bite out of a sandwich and becomes delighted by the way it tastes. The rest seem to be eating quietly with at least some degree of manners.

Soon, the dishes from the main course were cleared away to make room for dessert. As Tyson and Daichi compete on over dessert, Daichi accidentally grabs Lux's piece of cake instead of one of the many he had asked for. The golden haired girl who had been looking forward to dessert watches with disappointment as Daichi consumes every last bit of her cake. Feeling sorry for her, Kai, who had been sitting next to her, pushes his untouched plate of cake in her direction causing the girl to turn to it and then to him.

Lux stares at Kai for a moment and then asks timidly, "I can…have it?"

Kai responds to her with a nod, his eyes closed. Lux's face lit up.

"Thank you!" Lux thanks him happily as she begins to dig into it with her fork.

Part of Wyvynn wishes he could join in too. It was clear that they aren't bad people. On top of that he was kind of hungry himself. He had watched them eat their entire meal and his stomach, no longer able to hold it in, lets out a growl.

Hearing the sound, Kai turns in Wyvynn's direction and gazes that way for a time. Ray, noticing that Kai has had his eyes set on the same spot for a while, turns too but does not see anything unusual.

"Is something there, Kai?" Ray asks him. The question causes Tala, and Ventus to take notice of that spot in the garden as well.

Wyvynn could feel a drop of sweat roll down his temple. He had almost been caught.

Seeing nothing move, Kai turns back to his meal. Not noticing anything either, the other three relax as well.

Wyvynn sneaks a glance at them one last time before quietly slipping out of the estate grounds. Although after nightfall it would likely be easy for him to take Lux back, he didn't want to do it. Besides Lok's specific orders were merely to find them and track them down. He didn't have to do more.

...

The sun hangs low in the sky as the time for it to set approaches. Dinner had been served some time earlier and this time Lux sat as far from Tyson and Daichi as possible. For some reason, Kai had not shown up for the meal and now that Lux was finished eating, she wanders the estate looking for him. With the others around she didn't really get a very good chance to thank him for staying by her side the other night and she wanted to at least do that. Suspecting that he is outside somewhere in the gardens, she quietly goes outside and looks around. Wandering aimlessly for a bit, she eventually ends up at the amphitheater where Tyson and the others had been training before. Looking into it, she sees Kai there with Dranzer. The blue blade's spin was weak and Kai appears to be exhausted.

Lux approached him a little but then stopped. The small bell around her neck makes a soft sound and at that instant, Kai's voice sounds clear and crisp in the air, calling to his phoenix bitbeast, "Dranzer, Plasma Phoenix Soul!"

From Dranzer, five streams of white flames spiral upward as a flaming aura surrounded the blue blade. Growing brighter and brighter, eventually, the light of Kai's new technique blinds Lux, forcing her to cover her eyes. When it clears, she looks to see the previously weakening Dranzer blade spinning strong in the middle of the amphitheater as if it had been invigorated by an unknown force. Kai raises his hand and Dranzer returns to him just as the sun disappears over the horizon.


	35. In the Night

**CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE**

**~ In the Night ~**

* * *

The stars glitter across the sky over a sleeping land. The soft chorus of the crickets sounds quietly in the night on the grounds of the Alfhild's estate. In this serene scenery, a lone figure with ice-blue hair floats in midair outside a large window in the dim starlight. His eyes are fixated on the sleeping golden haired girl inside.

Wyvynn has been watching the girl and her friends for the whole day almost unnoticed by them except for the incident where his stomach almost gave him away. Although his orders were to keep track of the group, it was obvious that he should take the girl with him back to Lok. He watches as the girl turns over in her sleep, now facing him. If he wanted to bring her back, now would be the perfect chance while everyone is asleep. However, he could not bring himself to do it. Having seen the girl and her friends interact, he had to admit it, it looked like fun. Lok had told him before that there was no way that any of them would ever live out a normal life happily ever again because they were now inherently different from everyone else. Specifically, Lok had promised him that the only way for the six of them to find happiness would be to recreate the world for themselves.

'But what about _this_ girl?' Wyvynn questions in his mind.

Surely the girl before him isn't special amongst the six of them. She underwent the same experimental procedures as he did, yet those around her don't hate or ridicule her for it. They all seem to get along fine.

'Do they even know that she's different from them?' Wyvynn wonders.

He is certain that Ventus knows that she's different, but the two of them are blood relatives. He then recalls what he saw just earlier in the day before. Kai had seen the scar on her back but he chose to cover it up so that _she_ wouldn't see it.

'Did he know how she would react if she saw it?' Wyvynn wonders as he continues to watch her sleep. He then looks at his own scars on the side of his wrists. Their scars weren't the ugliest thing in the world but it was still not too pleasing to the eye. 'Kai could have been covering it up just because _he_ didn't want to see it…'

While that _could_ be, there was another contradiction. Each of the Magnanimae had a very distinct feature: they all have an iridescent glow in their eyes that manifested when they were forced to awaken in the lab. There was no way any of them could have missed that.

Wyvynn moves closer and places a hand on the glass. As he does, the force of his hand causes the window to open slightly, causing a loud, screeching creak to become audible.

'Crap…' Wyvynn curses in his mind as he flips his body behind the wall in midair to avoid being seen by the pair of iridescent, heterochromatic eyes that fluttered open.

Lux rubbed her eyes a little and sat up. Looking around, she saw that her window was opened slightly but no one was in the room. Unsuspectingly, she lays back down on the bed and closes her eyes.

'That was close…' Wyvynn sighs mentally as he peaks back in.

A while passes but Lux has only been tossing and turning in bed. She pulls the sheets over her head but begins to find it stuffy that way. Annoyed, she throws them off and sits up. Afraid that he'd be caught by her, Wyvynn hides again from her view.

Lux looks around for the time. A nearby clock reads two thirty. There was still much time before the sun even rises. Deciding that a walk might help her fall back asleep, she finds a shawl and wraps it around her upper body and leaves the room.

...

At the small amphitheater, an obstacle ridden course made primarily from stones is traversed carefully by a silver beyblade. A tall red haired Russian youth stands at the edge of the center of the amphitheater. He watches as his beyblade travels skillfully through the course he had set up but grunts when his blade trips at a rather difficult part of the course. Picking up his blade, he attaches it to his launcher and tries again. This time, his beyblade successfully makes it through the miniature stone maze and arrives at the center where a pile of rocks sit waiting to be attacked. Now was the perfect time to perfect his new attack move from his current Snow Meteor attack.

"Ice Vortex Breaker!" Tala calls to his Wolborg.

Cold air waves begins to spiral inwards, concentrating on Wolborg, eventually forming a sharp, spiking armor of ice around it. Icy particles, condensed in the air nearby, continue to swirl around it like a vortex as Wolborg appears and leads the blade to the pile of rocks. The spiking armored blade smashes into the rocks, breaking both the armor and the pile into rubble. As the rubble falls nicely around the still spinning blade, the sparkling icy air subsides.

Satisfied with his new performance, Tala holds up his hand and catches his blade as it returns to him.

"Pretty…" a voice not so far away compliments him.

Tala turns to see Lux standing on the edge of the amphitheater, her hands holding the ends of the shawl wrapped around her. The sight of her causes his mood to change completely as he remembers what Kai had told him back in Russia. He walks out of the amphitheater past her and would have left but is stopped by her voice.

"Tala?" Lux calls to him softly as she turns to him. "Do you…dislike me?"

"Why do you ask that?" he asks her. He had certainly not intended to leave this impression on her.

"You walk away from me…a lot" she points out, her eyes staring at his back.

"That's not it…" Tala tells her.

The two of them stay silent and Lux removes her eyes from him. Wyvynn listens from behind a tree, his back leaning on it. He wonders if maybe Lok was right afterall.

Tala then speaks again, "I…knew you. The past you, I mean."

A moment passes quietly.

"The past…me?"

"Yeah…the you from before you lost your memory." Tala turns to face her. "Listen…"

Wyvynn turns and peaks out from the tree at the two of them.

"I'm the reason you lost your memory," Tala admits to her. "It was me who sold you out."

Wyvynn, now fully interested in this, leans in closer to listen better.

"This was some years ago, back when I was still living with my father in Russia." Tala begins his tale. "Back then, we were poor. My mother left us and I was forced to steal for a living since my father was drunk all the time. One day, you and your family came to our town to do some charity work…"

"My family?" Lux disrupts him, stepping a little closer to him. "My mother and my father? And Ventus?"

"I think it was just your parents." Tala answers her. "Anyway-"

"Sorry." Lux apologizes, cutting him off again.

"Huh?" Tala reacts, confused. "What are you apologizing for?"

"I interrupted you." Lux answers shyly. "Hilary and Kenny told me it's rude to do that…and that being rude is bad…"

"Uh…no problem." Tala continues, "Anyway I was there that day and that was when I first met you…"

Tala pauses as the memory of his first meeting with her fills his mind. He remembers the young girl's affectionate interactions with her parents and the way she had attempted despite her small size to help pass out soup to the poor.

"I was envious of you." Tala mouths unintentionally.

"Envious…?" Lux repeats, her curious eyes staring at his. "What does that mean?"

"Uh…" Tala turns away, his eyes searching for words to define the word he just used. "It means…kinda like when you see someone who has something that you don't have…and you wish you had it…I guess…"

"Did I have something that you wish you had?" Lux asks simply.

Tala keeps his gaze to the side.

"Yeah…a warm family, sufficient food for dinner…"

Upon hearing that, Lux casts her eyes downwards.

"I secretly followed you that day." Tala goes on. "I knew you and your parents had money and I thought…maybe if I asked for it, you'd give me some. If it came to it, I was gonna steal…"

"Steal…?" Lux repeats. She then glares at him, backing away a step. "Tyson said that's a bad thing to do."

"Well I know that!" Tala snaps. "But it was either that or I get a nice beating before I starve to death. Your family's bodyguards caught me that day anyway."

"Oh." She relaxes. "And then?"

"Well I went back to try again at night."

Lux backs away again, giving him the same look as before.

"Don't give me that look." Tala responds. "If it makes you any happier I don't steal anymore."

Tala's expression then became more serious.

"Your bodyguards…they were dead when I got there and there were some strange men outside the building you were staying in." Tala continues, "I heard some screams from the inside too. I was confused what was going on so I just stood and watched from the side of the building. Then out of the blue, you fell on me and asked me for help. I think you jumped or fell out the second floor window."

Lux blinked at him and then looked downwards.

"I'm sorry…" she apologizes. "…for falling on you…"

"Don't be." Tala resumes his story. "As a result of that though, the guys in the front of the building heard you and we both had to run. We got away clean but you were without a place to stay so I took you to an abandoned building at the outskirts of town. Those guys stayed in town but luckily they didn't see my face that night so I was able to bring you food regularly."

Lux timidly looks up at him. "Thank you."

"What for?" Tala turns to her.

"You took care of me…" she replies. "like Kai is doing now…right?"

"Uh…yeah…I guess." Tala turns away again. He thinks for a moment about telling her that the food he brought her was stolen but decides against it.

"Although…" Tala continues, "You kind of shouldn't thank me…"

"Why not?"

"About three weeks later, we…sort of…had a fight." Tala keeps his gaze away.

"A fight…?" Lux repeats, her eyes asking him for more information. "What…was it…about?"

"It doesn't matter now." Tala tells her. "The point is, I got really mad and I did something stupid…something I really shouldn't have done."

Lux blinks and waits for him to finish.

"I made a deal with those guys…the ones who were after you." Tala's eyes now shows a hint of regret mixed with shame. "If they gave me enough money to buy food for a month, I'd tell them where you were hiding."

"Hm…" Lux looks downwards with disappointment.

"They agreed…and I led them to you." Tala's hands form a fist now. "But it was a lie! After I brought them to you, they just beat me up and left with you. That's when I sorely regretted what I did…I'm sorry."

Lux looks up at him now.

"I had no idea what they were going to do to you…" Tala finishes, keeping his face down.

Lux steps up closer to him now.

"You feel bad still…because you did that?"

"Of course I still feel bad!" Tala exclaims. "How can I not after I did something so awful! I didn't even realize the full extent of what I had done until I learned of that lab…"

Silence ensued.

"I do not…remember…" Lux tells him, breaking the silence.

"Even if you don't remember it!" Tala insists.

"Hm…" Lux stares downwards at the ground.

"What?"

"Cause and effect…" Lux says.

"Huh?" Tala looks at her puzzled.

"Hilary taught me. If you do something…something else will happen."

Tala blinks as he stares at her, still confused.

"You did that…and now I am here." Lux turns from him. "But I don't think all is bad now."

"What do you mean?" Tala asks her.

"If you had not done that…maybe I would not have met everyone."

"I guess not…"

"I don't like…not remembering…and I don't like…that scary place…" Lux looks up at the stars for a moment. "But I'm glad I met Kai and the others…I had fun…I have things to remember now…and Kai…"

"Are you trying to say you forgive me?" Tala asks, trying to piece together what she is trying to say.

"Forgive…yes. That word is the one." She stop gazing at the sky and nods. She then turns to him and smiles. "I forgive."

"Well I'm glad you do." Tala tells her. He had expected her to react differently to all this. "It has been weighing me down for a while…"

Wyvynn turns back around and leans back against the tree. He then comments to himself in a whisper, "Wow it must feel nice to be complete airhead. If that was me, I'd have beat the crap out of whoever put me in that hellhole."

'But then again…what's so wrong about this?' Wyvynn asks in his mind, recalling some of his more gruesome experiences in that place. 'She doesn't remember any of it…and she seems happy with these people…is anything wrong with that?'

He then takes another peak at them.

"You should go back inside and get to bed." Tala tells Lux. "It's going to get even cooler in a little bit out here. No one will be happy if you get sick."

"Ok…" Lux turns to go.

"By the way…" Tala starts after she has taken a few steps.

Lux turns back to him.

"How's your eye been?" Tala asks her.

"My eye...?" Lux repeats.

"When we met before…you told me you had a problem with one eye. Something about a genetic disease."

Lux then holds out one hand in front of her and looks at it, blinking several times.

"Eyes are for seeing…I can see…" she says.

"Well…then nevermind." Tala wonders if maybe they fixed her vision at the lab. "Go to bed. I'll see you at breakfast."

Lux nods and leaves.

From behind the tree, Wyvynn gets ready to follow her but is stopped by a vibration in his pocket. He takes a few steps deeper into the grove of trees in the landscape garden and pulls out his phone.

"Yes?" Wyvynn greets his caller.

"It's me, Zane." the voice on the other end says. "Report back. These are Lok's orders."

"Yes." Wyvynn replies.

'Well…this is it.' Wyvynn comments mentally. 'What am I going to tell them…'

...

Lux enters her room and puts down the shawl on a nearby table. Although she hasn't remembered a thing about her past, at least she was able to learn about a small part of it through Tala. She makes her way to her bed and climbs in, drifting off to sleep soon after.

...

In another part of the building, soft, steady footsteps sound as Kai treads on the carpet covered floor of a brightly lit hallway. It would seem he, too, had been up for a stroll. Although he had not slept the night before, he had only been able to sleep for about four hours before waking up again. Unable to fall back asleep, he decided to walk around with no particular destination in mind.

By now, Kai had gotten over his initial reaction to the information that Ventus had gave him. He had to admit, he is still appalled by what he had learned. The knowledge of some of Lux's body's enhancements had even made him feel just a little as if she was otherworldly. However, having been through the day with her made that feeling disappear completely.

Kai stops and gazes out a window of the hallway. Although mostly still dark outside, it was starting to light up just a little. He recalls the last few times he had seen the sky like this. Other than the night before, the most recent times were because he had been looking for a kidnapped girl or caring for her after he had found her. Then, Lok, the one who kidnapped and assaulted her popped into his mind. He had never even met the guy directly. According to Ventus, he had lost his sanity sometime when they were still carrying out experiments on him.

'What will he do next?' Kai wonders. "Whatever he has in mind, he needs Lux for it…"

Kai removes his eyes from the outside and continues down the hallway. Taking a turn, he eventually realizes he has wandered to the wing where Lux is staying. Glancing around the empty hallway, he notices her bedroom door is left ajar. Finding it peculiar and somewhat suspicious, he moves closer and takes a quick peak into her room.

Inside, the girl sleeps peacefully in the dim light of the morning twilight. Her body is partially covered by the bed sheets and facing towards the window. It would seem she had simply forgotten to close her door fully. Relieved, Kai slips inside and gently closes the door before approaching her in silent steps. Having made his way to her bedside on the window's side, he stands and watches her for a while, allowing her tranquil features to capture his eyes. Bending over the bed slightly, he gently strokes her hair with one hand, careful not to wake her. This was certainly not the first time he had seen her sleep, but his eyes enjoyed the sight nonetheless.

Then, without realizing it, his eyes rests on her slightly parted lips. Soft and moist, they appear to be strangely enticing under the rosy glow of dawn. He begins to lean in closer, his desire to taste them and the apparent lack of witnesses getting the better of him.

However, when their faces are only a few inches apart, he stops.

'What in the hell am I doing…?' He asks in his mind. 'I don't even know what she thinks of me…'

At that moment, as if sensing his proximity, Lux's eyes flutter open. Seeing this, Kai pulls back completely from her as she slowly sits up and begins rubbing her eyes.

"Kai…?" she greets him, "Good…morning…"

"Uh…morning." Kai returns, looking away to hide his slightly flushed expression.

"What were you doing?" she asks innocently, her eyes still a little teary from sleep.

"What indeed…" There was no way he was going to tell her what it was he was really about to do. Not knowing what to say to her next and still slightly embarrassed by the fact that she had caught him like that, he leaves the room and closes the door behind him, leaving the girl staring after him confused.


	36. Lost and Found

**Hey guys! I just wanna thank every one of my readers for their continued support! It'd be very helpful to me if you can let me know what you guys think of the story so far either in a review or a PM. Enjoy the new chapter!**

* * *

**CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX**

**~ Lost and Found ~**

* * *

The sun shines in the clear skies immediately west of the celestial meridian. A warm sea breeze sweeps from the ocean westward, combing through the many islands on which the city of Stockholm is situated.

Tyson stretches as he greets the fresh coastal breeze, having just stepped outside from the Royal Palace on Stadholmen in Gamla Stan. Behind him, he is followed by Max, Ray, Hilary, Kenny, Daichi, Kai and Lux. The eight of them, along with the four members of the Blitzkrieg Boys, were told they could have the day off to do as they wish. The reason for this is because the day before, Lux had finally learned the move which Ventus had anticipated to be vital to their success in stopping Lok's plans - Song of Silence. Although powerless attack wise and renders Elfe incapable of anything other than dodging attacks, this ability can cancel any influence from a bitspirit within a set radius of Elfe.

The Bladebreaker's visit to the city, however, was a suggestion from Ray. Ray had reasoned that since Lux was born and raised in Sweden, it might be appropriate for her to at least pay a proper visit to her country's capital and maybe learn a little of its history and culture. So far, within the last four hours, the group had been to the Stortorget, the adjacent Nobel museum, the Storkyrkan, and toured all publicly open areas within the Stockholm Royal Palace.

"So where next?" Max asks as they began walking.

"Hm…according to the guide book, we've probably visited all of the most astonishing sites in Gamla Stan…well except one more church or if you want, the parliament building…but I'm not sure if they let you go inside the latter." Kenny answers him, referring to the small book in his hands. "it does say here that Gamla Stan is one to the best preserved medieval city centers in Europe, so we might as well walk around a little longer just to see the town."

"A medieval city center huh…" Ray looks around him with a smile. He eyes some of the nearby Renaissance style buildings.

"Who cares about that for now, I'm hungry!" Tyson interrupts. "Let's get some food, huh guys?"

"I'm hungry too!" Daichi pitches in to help convince the group.

"For once, I agree," Hilary adds. "I haven't had anything since breakfast."

"Hm…now that you mention it…" Max concurs.

"Alright, then it's decided! Lunch time!" Tyson cheers. "Any restaurant recommendations, Kenny?"

"I'm looking!" Kenny tells him.

"Tyson, we should be careful not to spend too much on food. Places with lots of tourists tend to charge more." Ray reminds him.

"Aw, come on, don't be such a stick in the mud. We have Lux here with us, I'm sure she won't mind paying for it, right Lux?" Tyson grins with a goofy expression on his face. "Besides, Ray, you were the one who said she should learn more about her country's culture so why not let her try some of the best food in town while we're here!"

"Tyson!" Hilary begins scolding him. "Can you be more rude? Just because she has money doesn't mean it has to be spent on _your_ stomach!"

Ray sighs, Max rolls his eyes and an irritated look forms on Kai's face.

"It's ok, Hilary." Lux tells her with a smile.

Hilary sighs.

"I think I found one that will suit your tastes…and it's not too expensive so I'm sure you can cover the costs." Kenny tells them.

"Way to go, Kenny!" Tyson says happily.

"Where is it?" asks Daichi, poking his face closer to the guidebook.

Kenny checks back and forth between the map and the guidebook and then sighs. "Come on, follow me…"

As the group begins to move following Kenny's lead, Kai lags behind for a moment and looks around as if sensing someone's gaze.

'Hm…' Kai takes note of a few people that were around them. No one seems to be watching them but he was sure he felt something. 'I could've sworn someone was watching us...'

Deciding it must've been a trick of his mind, he continues with the rest. Unknown to them a sloppily dressed bald man with a pair of shades watches them go from behind the corner of a building.

...

After some time of walking passes, Tyson begins to complain. "Are we there yet?"

"No Tyson, there's still some ways to go. The restaurant we want is at the south side of the island." Kenny replies.

"I'm so hungry…" Tyson whines.

"Quit whining, this island isn't that huge." Hilary tells him.

They come to an intersection and stop. Kenny looks around and then back at the map and around again. "Hmm…"

"Well Kenny?" Tyson pushes impatiently.

"Give me some time, Tyson; the map is in _Swedish_."

Bored with the wait, Max and Ray look around. Although relatively narrow, the street they had been led to was wide enough for vehicles to pass through. There were also many shops lining the street. Kenny leads the group a few more steps around the corner but then he stops again. Passing by a window display of items, Lux's eyes becomes fixated on them while Kenny rereads the map.

"Sorry guys…I think we need to go back and turn the other way." Kenny tells them, turning the group back and around the corner.

They begin to move again and Lux removes her eyes from the shop window to join them. However, as she takes a step forward, an incoming family of six tourists disrupts her motion and forces her to move to the side to let them pass on the narrow sidewalk. Much to her dismay, they seem to not notice the girl they are holding up. The father of the group takes a while capturing pictures while mother speaks to her children in a language she does not understand. They then finally notice Lux standing against the wall, but again to her dismay they don't seem to realize she wants to pass through them. The father then approaches her.

"Miss, could you please take a picture of me and my family here?" he asks her, holding the camera out to her.

"Take a picture…?" Lux repeats.

"Yes, you just hold the camera facing that way and press this button." He indicates to her, pointing down the street.

"Ok…"

The clueless girl takes the camera and the family lines up and she presses the one button and gives it back. The family then thanks her and begin to leave.

Once they had stopped blocking the road, she takes a turn back to the lane before but could not see the rest of the group anywhere. Believing they are simply further ahead somewhere, she goes down the road to find them.

...

On the east edge of the island, Wyvynn sits on a bench facing towards the water. Around him, a handful of seagulls fly around in search of unguarded food. Staring into the ocean he slowly becomes lost in his own thoughts.

He had reported back as ordered and told Lok a lie – Kai, Lux, and Ventus were not in Sweden. Expectedly, since they were under the assumption that he would not have any reason to betray them, they appear to have believed him and told him he could go where he likes until they find a way to locate the three. Having nothing else of interest to do, he ended up coming back here to follow them some more but chose to pass on the sightseeing they were doing. However, he felt rather uneasy about it all. They had trusted him and he had betrayed that trust.

'But…did they really trust me back there?' Wyvynn then recalls the way he had reported the information. He was a pretty bad liar; his voice showed hesitation and his eyes diverted from them. 'They could have just pretended to have accepted what I said…'

Wyvynn looks up and watches as a pair of seagulls encircle one another in the sky.

'What will I do now? That lie I told practically makes me a traitor…whether or not they know it yet. Would Lok turn on me when he finds out….like he did to Sparky? Even if for now I can run away from them…Maybe I can excuse the lie if they find out…Ugh, what am I, some kind of coward…?'

A short scream interrupts his thoughts and causes him to turn in its direction.

"Watch where you're going, young lady!" A middle aged woman scolds a golden haired girl in a white and pink thin-strap summer dress in front of her. It was apparent that the two had bumped into each other in the street.

"I'm sorry…" Lux apologizes as the woman brushes past her and continues walking. She then walked on herself, looking around as if in a daze.

'Why is she by herself?' Wyvynn wonders. 'Didn't she come with Kai and the others? Did she get separated…?'

He then watches as she stops a random stranger and asks something but the stranger looks puzzled by her question and just walks away from her. She stops another close by person and the same occurs. Curious about this, he gets off the bench and quietly follows her.

...

Meanwhile, Tyson, Ray, Max, Hilary, Daichi and Kai follow Kenny as he takes yet another turn into yet another narrow walkway. Like most of the streets they have walked through already, this one too, did not allow vehicles to pass through. Kenny pauses and looks around.

"Ok this is the street it should be on. If we keep going down this way we should be right in front of it." Kenny tells them.

"Alright!" Tyson happily exclaims as they begin to move along.

Kai follows but then notices something. Lux was generally a quiet girl, and had a tendency to be at the very back of the group whenever they went anywhere. However, for the last four or so blocks they've walked, she had literally not said a word. He glances over his shoulder.

She was not there.

'No way!' Kai searches everywhere behind them with his eyes.

"Kai?" Ray stops and turns to him wondering why his teammate who had been walking beside him had stopped. He soon notices the reason when he scans the rest of the group and then their surroundings.

"What's wrong?" Max turns around too now. The rest of the group stops too now.

"Lux isn't here." Ray answers him.

"She's missing, again?" Daichi asks, looking around too now.

"She probably strayed from us not too far away." Max then suggests. "Since this island isn't so big, we should probably be able to find her pretty easily."

Seeing as no one sees her anywhere, Kai decides to go search for her and starts to run off.

"Kai, are you going to go search for her by yourself?" Tyson shouts after him.

"Yeah." Kai yells back.

"Wait Kai!" Max calls to him. Kai stops and turns back. "I'll come with you."

Kai nods in approval. Max then turns back to the rest.

"We'll catch up later, k guys?" he then takes off with Kai.

...

On another part of the island, in a narrow cobbled street, Wyvynn watches as the girl in front of him stops by the window of a shop. She stares at a dress displayed there and then looks at the one she is wearing. Wyvynn glances at the dress in question. The design was quite elaborate and pretty. In some ways it is no wonder the girl likes it. She then twirls around and watches her reflection in the glass, causing a nearby man passing by to take notice of her due to her odd behavior. Wyvynn feels a little embarrassed for her now but continues to watch her nonetheless. Luckily very few people are around.

Just as she is about to move on, a bald man in rather sloppy clothing bumps into her. Wyvynn watches as the man slips his hand into her bag which she wore diagonally from her shoulder. The man pulls something out and quickly pockets it before turning to her to apologize.

Wyvynn sighs. He didn't have to do this, but he feels bad for her. He pulls over the hood of his black robe-like windbreaker and puts on a pair of sunglasses to hide the iridescent glow in his eyes. He then begins to walk calmly towards the approaching pickpocket and swipes the object from his pocket. The man stops and watches him walk away, grunting angrily as there was no way he can reclaim his loot without making it known he had stolen from the girl nearby. If he makes a scene, the girl would surely turn and see the item in question.

Wyvynn watches from the corner of his eye as the man soon walks away in defeat. He then catches up to Lux.

"Hey." He calls her attention.

She turns to him. For some reason his voice seems a little familiar but she could not remember clearly where she had heard it from. "Hello…"

Wyvynn takes her hand, pulls out the wallet and then places her other hand over it. "Be careful with this."

Lux looks at it and then into her bag. She then turns back to him, "Thank you, Mr. Stranger…but why did you have my wallet?"

Not wanting to make a scene or alert the girl too much, Wyvynn lies to her, "You…uh…dropped it back there."

Lux smiles. She then says to him, "Thank you."

"Yeah. Sure…anytime." He replies.

She then turns from him and continues down the road. Wyvynn, feeling bad for her again, finally decides to ask.

"Hey, are you here alone?" He knew the answer but he didn't want to seem suspicious.

She turns back to him and shakes her head gently. "I was with friends…and Kai. Then they disappeared…"

"You mean you got separated from them, right?" Wyvynn corrects her.

"Separated from…is the way to say it?"

Wyvynn then decides he might as well get straight to the point. "Want me to help you find your friends?"

Lux's face lit up upon hearing that. "Yes, please help."

"So," Wyvynn looks around, "Where did you last see them? Your friends, I mean…"

"I don't know…" she answers while they begin walking down the street.

"Where were you headed before you got separated?" Wyvynn asks,

"A restaurant…"

"Which one?"

"I don't know…Kenny said…it's on the south side…"

"Have you tried asking around if anyone has seen your friends?"

"Yes…they said they can't help me…that they don't know who they are…"

Wyvynn stops. "Wait, don't know who they are…? Did you ask them by name or by description?"

"Name or description…?" Lux stares at the ground for a moment. "I asked…if they know where Kai is…"

Wyvynn stares at her speechless. He was astounded. From all the time he had observed them so far, he had already figured out that she has trouble speaking due to a lack of a wide vocabulary base. The extent to which she lacked common sense however made him wonder what it was about her that could have prompted the scientists at the lab to erase so much of her knowledge as to render her practically incapable of taking care of herself in a situation as simple as being lost.

He then sighs. Although he knows their description, Wyvynn decides he might as well play along as it would be good for her the next time this happens. "Tell me, what do your friends look like and how many of them were there?

"There are seven of them…look like…hm…"

"Hair color, height, age, clothes." Wyvynn helps her along. "Tell me one by one."

"Ok…" Lux answers.

She goes through the descriptions of each her friends as they wander the streets. Wyvynn helps her along here and there but mostly does not listen as he already knows the information. They also ask around a few shopkeepers and passersby, explaining the situation to each. Some simply don't know but others point them along and wish them luck.

...

Meanwhile, doing almost the exact same are Kai and Max. They had gone through most of the shops they had passed by until they found a shopkeeper who noticed a lost looking girl of the appropriate age and dress. The man had pointed them down a street and they had thanked him. They now find themselves at the east edge of the island where the road is wide and on the other side, some low buildings and a few benches line the edge of the water.

Kai and Max search the area with their eyes for someone with a respectable image who might have seen the girl. The amount of people here and the structure of the area would have made it unlikely for shopkeepers to have paid any mind anyone outside their shops. Max then nudges him and points to a well-dressed, middle aged woman nearby who seems to be shopping in the vicinity.

Kai leads Max towards the woman and approaches her, "Excuse me,"

She turns around to face them. "Yes, young man?"

"We're looking for a girl with blond hair around this tall?" Kai asks indicating her height.

"She was wearing a white dress with some pink trimmings." Max adds.

"Why, yes. The little dear bumped into me a while ago. She looked rather lost." The woman answers.

"Did you see where she went?" Kai asks.

"I'm not sure but I think she went down that way." She points southward.

Kai begins in that direction and Max thanks her for the both of them. However a voice stops them.

"You looking for that blond chick in a white dress that was with you guys?"

Kai and Max turn to be greeted by a sloppily dressed man with a shiny bald head. The guy looked sketchy to them but they decide to hear him out anyway.

"Have you seen her?" Kai asks.

"Ha! You guys should give up," he tells them. "She ditched you guys for some dude in a black coat on Stora Nygatan."

He walks away and Kai begins to look around.

"A guy in a black coat?" Max turns to Kai.

Kai does not answer but instead runs into the nearest shop. Looking around, he quickly spots the shopkeeper and approaches her.

"I need to know where Stora Nygatan is." Kai tells her bluntly as Max steps into the shop behind him.

"Uhm…uh…" The shopkeeper was a little startled by him. "If you stay on this side of the street and walk south until you come to a large area where there's a statue of a man on horseback across the street. Go a little north west from there and you should see a triangular plaza. The street you're looking for should start from about the shop selling prescription glasses. It goes northward…"

Kai takes off and Max thanks the shopkeeper for him before following after him.

...

Kai and Max soon reach the street in question and look around. It seems to be lined with shops. Wandering a little further down, they come to an intersection. Kai takes a look down the street perpendicular. Not too far down was Lux but there was someone with her – a hooded man in black.

"Lux!" Kai shouts running up to them, Max, having noticed follows.

Lux turns around as does the man with her. She immediately recognizes him.

"Kai!" she greets him happily, running up to him and hugging him.

He returns her hug, relieved that they had found her.

"We're glad you're safe." Max tells her with a smile. "You had us all worried."

"Max!" she greets him over Kai's shoulder. She then apologizes, "I'm sorry for making you worry."

"Well, it looks like you found your friends. Or rather, they found you." Wyvynn smiles at the reunion. He then turns to leave.

"Wait, Mr. Stranger." Lux calls to him, causing him to turn back momentarily. "Thank you…for everything."

"You're very welcome." He tells her before continuing down the street.

Kai eyes him suspiciously. There was something about the man but he can't quite put his finger on it.

The three of them then head back to join the others for lunch. This time, Kai walks besides Lux and holds her hand securely in his. He was not about to let what had just transpired happen again. On the way, Max asks who the man was and Lux tells him she does not know. Ultimately Lux ends up telling them that he had returned her wallet and offered to help her find them. The information causes Kai to briefly examine her bag with his eyes. He finds it a little strange how she could have dropped her wallet but shrugs it off; if she got her wallet back in the end there was no need to look further into the incident.

...

Zane jumps over the fence of the Alfhild's estate and lands on the outside. During the last few hours he had explored the grounds of the entire estate as well as infiltrated the interior of the baroque style residence but did not see any of the three he sought – only the butler and two maids seem to be present. He had found Wyvynn's report the day before to be odd. The trio had definitely left Russia and this was the only other place where they would have any strong ties; any other country would be a random decision that they could not have predicted. While Lok would love to come and search for them himself, their group's funds were becoming scarce and his noticeably odd appearance makes a cheap, quiet and easy trip an extreme unlikelihood.

Zane then looks at the time. 'Looks like I better get going so I don't miss my flight back.'

He glances one last time at the estate behind him and then leaves quietly.

...

The sun casts an orange hue onto the clouds and the lavishly designed main building of the Alfhild's estate as it begins to set. Inside a large, spacious room, a grandfather clock ticks and tocks as its minute hand moves slowly over the lowest mark making it read half past nine. A rather large group has gathered into the room.

Tyson yawns exhausted from his trip to Stockholm. Sitting beside him on the same couch was Hilary and Daichi. Ray and Max each had a chair to themselves. Tala, Bryan and Ian occupied the couch perpendicular while Spencer stood behind them. Kai leaned against the wall between two open windows and Lux sat on the floor beside him, napping with her head against his leg.

The door to the room opens and Ventus enters dressed in business attire.

"Sorry to have kept you waiting," He apologizes to them. "My meeting ran late."

"Hey, no sweat!" Tyson then asks, "So why did you bring us all to this room?"

Lux stirs now as the room was no longer quiet.

Ventus takes note and in a slightly louder voice, he answers him. "I'm here because now that we're ready for it, I'd like to announce the final stages of our plan."

Outside the window, Wyvynn leans against the wall of the building. His mind is lost in thought as he listens to their conversation inside.

'What am I going to do…?'


	37. Emotion and Expression

**A thank you to Brillerai and Anonymous for the reviews :3**

**Here is Chapter 37! I hope you guys like it and thank you for the continued support.**

**Author's Note: I must thank and credit the composers Kuroishi Hitomi, Kajiura Yuuki, Toshihiko Sahashi and Takeharu Ishimoto; their compositions, namely Masquerade (Code Geass), Forest (El Cazador de la Bruja), The Price of Freedom (Final Fantasy VII Crisis Core) and a piece played during episode 21 of Gundam Seed Destiny really helped me to set the mood to this chapter. =)**

**Additionally, this chapter could technically have been split into two but I felt that the reward for waiting was ****_SLIGHTLY_**** below the mark I would deem worthwhile especially considering what I have in mind for the ending so...=)**

* * *

**CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN**

**~ Emotion and Expression ~**

* * *

The Mediterranean sun shines as the sole ruler of the clear skies over the ancient city of Rome. Three luxury vehicles travel at comfortable speeds, one behind another, down a busy road in the city's center.

Ventus had made a few rather important announcements just the night before at the Alfhild's main estate. First, Ventus informed them that he had completely reclaimed all assets that were illegally transferred to those who ran the lab. In particular, he was now the head of the Alfhild Group that had been run by Lux's father.

The second piece of information was in regards to the fighting style mainly used by Lok and his fellow Magnanimae. He elaborated on the differences between the souls of normal humans and that of a Magnanimae class human. A Magnanima's soul, other than their ritual purposes, is similar to the typical bitbeast but potentially stronger. He further explained the Extend-type launchers developed at the lab that took advantage of this fact. The Extend-types uses a fragment of the immortal bitbeast Psyche as a catalyst to extend a portion of a wielder's soul into their beyblade. This process, due to contact with Psyche, causes a resonance that augments or further augments the portion of the soul that had been extended, enabling some unique abilities. In the hands of a Magnanimae, this results in potentially the equivalent in power to that of a top notch bitbeast capable of massive amounts of damage.

Lastly, Ventus informed them of his plan for defeating and disarming Lok and how the other two pieces of information are relevant to that end. As the new head of the Alfhild Group, he has arranged for an interview by the media in about a week in which he intends to disclose his and Lux's approximate location. Certain that this will be of interest to Lok, he intends for this to lure out Lok to a location of his choice. For this reason he has made arrangements for all of them to travel to Italy where he will be interviewed. He also arranged them into two uneven groups.

The first and larger of the groups consisting of Kai, Lux, Tyson, Ray, Max and Daichi are to accompany him to a confrontation with Lok. Their main strategy shall be the use of Elfe's Song of Silence to cancel Lok's soul extension while Kai fights him. He took care to warn them however that the move will not distinguish between friend and foe, so it will be Lux's responsibility to dispel only the enemy's extensions. Kai initially objected to this; he felt that a two on one fight with Lok would be unfair. However, after Ventus informed him that Lok normally fights with two beyblades anyway, he agrees to follow the plan. Ventus then warned them that Lok and any allies he may have with him will likely attempt to cheat in even more ways so Tyson, Ray, Max and Daichi are to ensure that the fight is even. Tyson and Daichi were not thrilled by the arrangement; they felt that Kai was "getting all the glory" but Ventus assured them that there is a power that Kai has that makes it more advantageous for them if Kai is the one to fight him.

The second group consists of Tala, Bryan, Spencer, and Ian. While Kai and the others keep Lok busy, the Blitzkrieg Boys are to head to the Isle of Souls on which the Temple of Ouroboros lies. Once there, they should locate three altars, on two of which lies the essential artifacts for the rituals that can be performed there. Their objective is to destroy them both. In doing so, both rituals will become impossible to perform despite the presence of all seven Magnanimae. He also notified them of possible interference from Lok's allies but stated that the chances of someone guarding the place should be low.

The time now is almost noon. The group's plane had arrived some two hours earlier. Due to the copious amounts of tourists at the airport, it had taken them a long while to get through customs. The group had then split into three even groups to fit into the three luxury vehicles that had been arranged for them. Tyson, Daichi, Hilary and Kenny rode in the first vehicle, Kai, Lux, Max, and Ray in the second and the members of the Blitzkrieg Boys in the third. Ventus himself, however, did not travel to Rome with them; he had left the night before for a short business trip to Berlin. Since there was about a week and a half left until they were to confront Lok, he had told them they can go do whatever they wished in Italy for the time being.

To Kai, the city of Rome is a familiar place. Having been here at least twice for the World Championship tournaments over the years, he had seen quite a good deal of the place. The same can be said of Max and Ray. Lux on the other hand has her eyes glued to the sights beyond the glass of the car window. Whether or not she might have traveled here in the past, the city was sure new to her now. Her delighted look causes a smile to form briefly on Kai's face, unnoticed by the other three passengers.

"I still remember the first time we came here on the back of a farmer's truck." Max recalls as he watches some of the sights go by in the car window. "Who'd have thought that I'd be traveling through here in a limo this time?"

"You said it." Ray chuckles, agreeing with him. "I still remember how Tyson kept talking about Italian food. To think that it's already been three years…"

"This was one of the places we went to for last year's tournament too." Max remembers. "I think I'll buy a souvenir for my mom while I'm here."

"That sounds like a nice idea." Ray comments.

Soon the car stops due to traffic. Kai watches as the first car continues down the road in front of them, having made it past the light before it changed. Lux looks out the window as before like a curious kitten. Her features show not a hint of care for the stop. Scanning the streets, her eyes eventually land on an unusual trio. She watches this trio consisting of one blonde teen and two magenta haired girls as the two girls argue and the blond one tries to calm them down. Max catches sight of Lux focusing on something outside and notices the trio as well.

"Hey guys, isn't that Enrique over there?" he points out.

Kai and Ray turn in that direction as Lux turn from the window to them.

"Yeah, it is." Ray then turns to the others. "We sure haven't seen him in a while. Why don't we go say hi to him?"

"Sounds like a great idea. I wonder what he's been up to." Max agrees he then turns to Lux. "Hey Lux, wanna meet him?"

Lux nods blankly. She didn't really care either way.

Ray then turns to Kai. "You in, Kai?"

"Sure, whatever." Kai wasn't particularly eager but he didn't see a reason otherwise when they have days of time to kill.

Max then opens the car window and shouts to Enrique, "Hey! Enrique!"

Ray turns to the driver. "Excuse me, could you drop us off here and pick us up a little later?"

"Sure," their chauffeur responds.

The four of them gets out of the car and makes their way to the sidewalk. The traffic light changes and the cars begin to move. Tala watches them from the third car wondering what they are doing.

"Girls, I didn't mean what I said, honest." Enrique tells the two quarreling girls in front of him. "I really think that you're both beautiful!"

"As if!" the one with the magenta pigtails says with her arms cross. "You compared me to a ladybug!"

"That's 'cause you _are_ kind of like a ladybug." The one with short magenta hair remarks.

"Am not!" the magenta pigtailed girl retorts. "At least I don't whore for attention everywhere I go like someone I know."

"Pardon? What's that supposed to mean?!" the other girl glares at her back. "You're just jealous because I have a better figure!"

"Then what do call that washboard on your chest?"

"As if yours is much better! You're only bigger by one size!"

"Girls, let's get along now," Enrique tries to calm them down. "The two of you are sisters; it'd be a shame for you two to hate each other…"

"Butt out, you two timer!" they told him in unison before resuming their fight.

"Hey Enrique," Ray greets him.

"Ray! Max!" Enrique seems quite happy to see them. "…and Kai!"

"Hey," Max greets.

The two magenta haired girls stop arguing at the sight of Kai.

"Where's Tyson?" Enrique asks them.

"He's was traveling in a different car so I guess he didn't see you." Max explains.

"I see," Enrique then notices the silent, golden haired girl with them. "Who's the girl?"

"Oh, she's a friend of ours." Max introduces her, "Her name is Lux. We were actually on our way to her family's villa."

"Her family's villa?" Enrique is curious now. The girl didn't quite carry herself like someone from a wealthy family; more precisely she just seems like a shy, innocent girl.

The two girls with magenta hair look at Kai and then each other before sending each other glares and turning from one another.

"Anyway, it's great to see you guys again." Enrique tells them. "How about you all join me for lunch?"

"Sounds awesome!" Max agrees to it.

"You can count me in!" Ray joins in too.

They turn to Kai and Lux.

"Lux, you wanna come along?" Ray invites her.

She looks around at everyone and then asks, "Cake…will be there?"

Enrique and the two girls with him look at her strangely.

"Uh…we can order some for dessert if you'd like." Enrique tells her.

Lux nods happily in response."Okay,"

Seeing as everyone else is going along with this, Kai also joins in with a nod.

"You girls can come along too." Enrique tells the two girls in an attempt to patch things up with them.

"I guess I'll come," the pigtailed one replies, with her arms folded looking away from her sister.

"Then I'm in too." the short haired one adds, facing the other direction.

"That's great," Enrique turns to lead the group to a restaurant. "Follow me, everyone. I know a great place around here."

...

As the group begins walking, the short haired girl inserts herself between Lux and Kai. Fixing up her hair a little, she begins to talk to him.

"Hi, I'm Flavia," she introduces herself.

Kai continues walking without bothering to acknowledge her.

"You're Kai, right?" she asks, trying to start up a conversation with him.

He does not bother to reply.

The pigtailed girl watches her sister with disdain. She takes out a small mirror and checks her appearance.

"So Enrique what have you been up to lately?" Max asks him.

"More or less the usual." Enrique replies. "I've brushed up a lot over the years on my beyblading. Wait 'til you see my Amphilyon in action."

"You're going to try and enter this year's tournament aren't you?" Max half jokes around. He knew full well there was no way the Majestics were going to back out.

"You bet." Enrique then proceeds to say, "And this year no team of cheaters will stop me and my team from getting to the World Championships!"

The pigtailed girl, satisfied with her look puts away the mirror and approaches Kai from the other side.

"Hey there, I'm Cornelia." She begins to talk to him. "You're that blader who almost won the World Championships in last year's tournament, right? I'm a huge fan of yours."

Flavia, irritated, sends her a glare. She then walks a little closer to Kai. "See, we both saw you blade against Tyson in the finals. I personally think you should've been the one to take the championship title."

Kai eyes them both briefly but does not reply to either of them. The two of them were strangely persistent despite his clear lack of interest.

Flavia, interpreting the glance from him as a sign of interest, tries to pick up where she left off.

"You know, I'm a blader myself." She tells him. "I could use some pointers from you if you got some time."

"That'd be a great idea!" Cornelia walks a little closer to him as well now, earning a glower from her sister. "My sister and I were thinking of competing in the upcoming preliminaries. If you can, do you think you can help me out a little too?"

Feeling as if the two were just a little too close, Kai walks a little faster to make some space between him and the two girls but they increase their speed to match his, much to his displeasure.

The group passes by a small shop. A hairpin decorated with a metallic, iridescent butterfly design catches Lux's eye. She stops to look at it a little, causing Ray who had been walking beside her to stop too.

"Do you want something from this shop?" he asks her.

Max turns and notices the shop.

"Hey Enrique, you mind if we stop by here just for a little?" Max asks, stopping the remainder of the group. "I wanna get my mom something while I'm here."

"Sure thing." Enrique tells him.

Max enters the shop to look around. Kai, noticing Lux pick up the hairpin, brushes past the two girls and begins to approach her. Flavia and Cornelia both take note of the hair pins on display. A devious look forms on their faces as they approach the spot as well. Just as Kai was about to ask Lux if she'd like to have the hairpin as a present, Flavia places herself in between the two of them again.

"Do you think you can give me a second opinion?" she asks, putting on a hairpin with black floral designs. "How do you think this looks on me?"

Cornelia scowls at her sister again. Lux, having lost interest in the hairpin puts it back down and moves from the spot. Kai was going to tell Flavia to take a hike but seeing as Lux wasn't interested in the hairpin anymore, he simply walks back to the others outside and ignores Flavia who subsequently takes off the hairpin and puts it back, frustrated. Ray, noticing Kai's building irritation sighs.

Max emerges from the shop with a small bag, "Sorry to keep you guys waiting!"

"What'd you get for your mom?" Enrique asks him.

"Just something small. She told me she'd like one of these before so I thought I'd get it for her for the next time I see her in New York." Max answers.

The group resumes walking and the two magenta haired sisters resume their position on both sides of Kai. Lux stays in the back of the group as usual but begins to lag more and more behind.

"Hey girls, you wanna go on my yacht this evening?" Enrique turns to them to ask.

"No thanks, I have more interesting things to do," Flavia replies.

"Me too." Cornelia adds.

Enrique sighs and returns his attention to his friends.

"What'd you do to make them so mad at you?" Max asks.

"Don't mention it…" Enrique sighs. He then asks, "So how long are you guys going to be in Rome?"

"Not long, actually. We were really just passing through." Max answers him. "The Alfhild's villa is in Tuscany and that's where we're planning to stay for the next few days."

"The Alfhild's? Wait…" The name rang a bell to Enrique. He turns around to look at Lux. "Is she from the Alfhild family?"

"Uh…yeah," Max replies. "Why?"

"Other than the recent years, they've been in control of a powerful financial conglomerate here in Europe for almost two centuries." Enrique tells him. "Oliver and Robert's families both have dealings with them. According to Oliver, a member of the family is recently in control again."

"Really?" Max was a little amazed. "I never knew Oliver and Robert had connections with them."

"Well the rich tends to be connected to each other." Enrique tells him. "...Especially when we are from close by regions"

Having heard the information, the two girls with magenta hair eye Lux with envy. In reaction, they try to close up the space between them and Kai. Kai glances over to Lux who is traveling at the very back of the group. She is almost behind Ray rather than beside him. Her gaze was kept away from Kai. Unable to see her expression, Kai wonders what Lux even thinks of the situation or if she even cares. From the angle from which he is looking, she appears just as if everything was normal.

'Maybe she doesn't feel anything towards me beyond friendship after all…' he thinks to himself. His eyes show a hint of disappointment for a split second.

As they turn around a corner, Ray suddenly feels a little extra weight pulling down on his hair in the back. He turns to see his student holding lightly onto him by his ponytail with one hand. Her face was mostly turned away from the group but he could see an honest expression of discontent on her features. Ray glances over to Kai and the two girls around him and then back to Lux. Knowing fully what this was all about, he silently let's her hold on.

A few kids run past the group down the street. One of them accidently bumps into Cornelia along the way. She grabs hold of Kai's arm for support and presses her chest against him.

"I'm sorry," she says to him while her sister sends her a look of aggravation. "A kid bumped into me."

Lux tenses at the sight of this, unintentionally tightening her grip on Ray's hair and pulling on it consequently.

"Ow!" Ray screams in reaction.

Lux quickly let's go and mouths an almost inaudible "sorry…" to him.

Everyone in front of them stop and turn to Ray.

"What happened, Ray?" Max asks.

"I-It's nothing, I'm fine." Ray tells the others.

Max and Enrique resume walking. Just as Kai was about to get himself out of Cornelia's grip, another yelp sounds, this time from Flavia. The next thing Kai knew, Flavia was leaning on him as well.

"Sorry about that, I tripped," she excuses her fall.

Ray glances at Lux to see an even greater expression of displeasure than before.

Cornelia looks at her sister with disgust. "You did that on purpose!"

The group stops again.

"Now why would I do that!?" Flavia snaps back.

Cornelia does not get a chance to say anything back as an intimidating voice booms over them both, "Listen, if you two are done tripping and getting yourselves bumped into, do me the favor of getting off of me!"

The both of them to look up to meet Kai's angry gaze. Before they can react, he jerks himself out of both their grasps and walks on. Max and Enrique continue as well. The magenta haired sisters follow shortly.

Ray sighs, 'This won't turn out well…'

They soon reach a restaurant with outdoor seating. Enrique indicates to them that this is the place and the group chooses a table to sit. Max and Enrique sit beside one another. Kai takes a seat but soon finds both sides of him occupied by the magenta haired duo. Although much to his vexation, he chooses not to make a scene. Ray takes the empty seat besides Enrique and Lux sits beside Ray where she is farthest from Kai.

Enrique then begins to recommend some of the dishes at the restaurant to them. Max and Ray pick out the ones they're interested in while Lux leans on her chair facing the street away from the rest of the group.

Enrique turns to the two with magenta hair and asks, "So what would you girls like to eat?"

The girls choose not to answer but instead they begin trying to talk to Kai again, asking what he'd like to eat and recommending their own favorites to him. As before, Kai simply ignores them.

Enrique sighs.

A waiter soon comes to take their order. Max, Ray, and Enrique order normally but as Kai was about to order something, the two beside him attempt to order their favorites for him resulting in them fighting with each other again. Kai takes this chance to tell the waiter his order, much to the disappointment of both sisters. Seeing as Lux was in no mood to bother ordering food and probably does not have much of an appetite either, Ray orders some cake for her along with something to drink hoping it might distract her a little.

After writing down the order, the waiter leaves them. Lux then stands up and mouths to Ray, "…restroom" to which he responds with a nod and a look of concern. She then moves through the many tables and chairs to where the restroom sign is located.

As soon as she got to the restroom, Lux closes the door and looks around. Seeing as no one is inside but her, she leans back against the door and stays that way for a while. During this while, everything is silent save for the soft hum of the vents at the top of the room that had become audible.

'Why do I feel…so bothered?' she asks herself in her mind. Normally she enjoyed her time with her friends. Particularly around Kai, she normally felt at ease and even happy despite his silent and cool demeanor. However today ever since she had stepped out of the car with everyone, she felt herself feeling more and more uncomfortable.

Lux held out her hand in front of her and examined it. Then she makes her way to the mirror spread across the restroom wall and gazes into her own reflection. Physically there was nothing wrong with her. She turns and examines herself more.

"I'm not…injured." She then touches her forehead. "Am I…sick?"

She gazes into the mirror some more.

'No…I'm not…sick.' Her hand fell to her side.

Her eyes eventually fall on the red ribbon around her neck. Without even realizing it, she touches the ribbon with one hand and mouths,

"Kai…"

Lux wakes from her trance at the sound of his name.

'Kai…'

Kai had acted just as he normally does; he hadn't really done anything out of the ordinary today.

'Kai…was…normal. But…then…why am I…bothered?'

She thinks back to the things that had only happened a little earlier – the two girls clinging to him, pushing their body against him, and generally being all over him. Soon she felt that feeling that had bothered her grow even stronger.

At the same time, she realizes what it was that bothered her. "They're…the ones."

The restroom door opens and admits two female customers who are unfamiliar to Lux. Seeing as she was no longer alone, Lux exits and stands outside the restroom momentarily. She then walks a little further out to see that the food had arrived. Max, Ray and Enrique were enjoying their meal. The dessert and drink that Ray had ordered for her had arrived as well. However, as Lux's eyes fall on Kai and the two magenta haired girls around him trying to convince him to try some of what they had ordered, she felt herself becoming dissuaded from rejoining them. Quietly, without attracting attention to herself, she slips away from the vicinity of the restaurant and begins to walk down the street in the opposite direction from which they came.

"Lux is sure taking her time in there," Max notes after swallowing his food.

Kai turns and eyes the restroom area. However, Flavia forces his attention on her, "Even if you don't like what we recommended, you should still eat, you know? Your food will get cold."

"I wonder if she's alright." Ray then notices something not too far away in the distance – someone moving slowly down the street. Realizing who it is, he gets up and shouts to her, "LUX!"

Lux, hearing her name, turns back to see that, everyone, including Kai, had noticed her. She stands still; the first thing they'd probably ask is why she had left the way she did. Not wanting to answer that question to them for a reason she does not understand, she panics and looks around her. A nearby alleyway catches her eye.

Kai watches as she begins to sprint down the street and into an alley. He then recalls how she had kept her gaze from him as they were walking and even after they had been seated. It dawns on him why she had tried to leave. He gets up to pursue her but is stopped by a hand on his wrist.

"Oh, come on, why are you going after her?" Flavia then says, "If she wants to go, just let her."

That was IT.

"I've had just about enough of this…" Kai was furious now. He turns to both magenta haired girls, "PISS OFF!"

Kai jerks out of Flavia's grip and dashes off in the direction Lux had gone, leaving the two to stare after him.

Lux sped down the alley and into a street connected to the alley. She randomly picks a direction and continues running, nimbly dodging any passersby and crossing into any street that was not blocked by a "stop" traffic signal. Some ways behind her, Kai calls out her name and tries to catch up to her.

"Lux!" He shouts through the crowd.

'Damn, she's fast!' Kai mentally comments.

He follows her with his eyes as she crosses at an intersection ahead and disappears from view.

'How could I have been so blind?'

He follows her, making it across the road just as the lights change.

'She did care…she just…'

He looks around for her and spots her as she disappears behind yet another building.

'…She just didn't know how to express it.'

He dashes in that direction and soon spots her making another turn.

'She might not even understand…'

He continues to run after her.

'…just what it is she's feeling.'

Kai finds himself at an intersection. He looks around. Scanning everywhere with his eyes and again for a second time, he finds Lux no longer anywhere in sight. He had lost her. "Dammit!"

...

Lux slows down to catch her breath and looks around her to find herself at the entrance of some public park or reserve. She had kept running in a panic and had no idea where she had gone. Not knowing the way back to her friends and not in the mood to explain her actions anyway, she ends up wandering into the park. Unknown to her, she catches the iridescent cobalt eyes of a familiar man with ice-blue hair as she enters.

Looking around, the entire place was filled with…people. Lux notes that some of these people were doing very similar things to those she saw in Gamla Stan. She looks around some more and eventually notices a rather secluded spot under a tree. She walks over to it and sits down, tired from the long run. Her stomach lets out a noticeable growl making her slightly regret not having eaten anything. However, that thought ends as soon as she remembers the whole reason why she even ran here.

"But why...do the two of them bother me…?" she asks herself. She then remembers a certain furball that usually kept her company at times like this and begins to miss the small creature. She and Kai had taken the family of cats back to the spot where they had lived before leaving the country since they did not know how long they were going to be gone.

'What will I do...now?' Lux hugs her knees to her and stares ahead of her for a while, watching some of the tourists take pictures. Soon, without realizing it, the sun's afternoon warmth causes her to doze off.

...

Kai looks around a plaza. Lux was nowhere to be found. Over the past two hours, he had asked a number of people, mostly shopkeepers, many of whom had no clue if they had seen the girl. At this point he is not even sure if he's been misdirected or how many times if he has been. Kai looks around the plaza a little and wonders which person he should ask. A tug on his scarf catches his attention.

"Mister, are you looking for a girl with long golden blonde hair in a white dress?" a small child asks.

Kai was not sure how the child knew but decides to ask him anyway. "Do you know where I can find her?"

"She's at the Villa Torlonia." The kid tells him.

Kai ponders for a moment if he should trust the kid. There is the chance that Lux might have made contact with the kid and asked him to find him but then he thinks back to the mentality Lux seemed to have been in when she ran off. 'No way…'

"How did you know I'm looking for her?" Kai asks him.

"I can't tell you that mister," the kid answers.

Deciding this might be his only lead at this point, Kai decides to trust him once. "Fine, where's Villa Torlonia?"

"Here." The kid hands him a folded slip of paper.

As soon as Kai accepts it, the kid runs off.

"Hey, wait!" Kai calls after him but he soon disappears out of sight. He opens the slip to discover a poorly drawn map. Despite that however, the map was labeled and his route was traced out for him. Kai looks around him and begins to follow the route on the map.

...

In a nearby alleyway, the same kid runs up to a man with ice-blue hair.

"I told him what you wanted and gave him the paper, mister." The kid tells him.

"Good boy," Wyvynn answers. He then pulls out some cash from his pocket. "Here you go! Enjoy your ice cream, kid."

"Thanks mister, bye!" the kid leaves him.

"What in the world am I doing…?" Wyvynn asks himself as he watches the kid run off. He then shrugs. "Oh well…"

...

A breeze brushes through the many leaves and branches of a large ash tree and disturbs the water of the lake in which the tree stood. An elf bends down on the surface of the lake and lightly shakes Lux.

"Lux…" she calls to her.

The girl does not react.

"Lux…" she calls again.

Lux stirs and blinks her eyes open to see her own face.

"El…fe?" Lux recognizes her spirit friend and sits up. She then takes a look around. She recognizes her surroundings. "This…place…"

Elfe smiles and gets up. She then extends a hand to her. "Let's go for a walk."

Lux looks at Elfe for a moment and slowly nods before taking her hand.

As the two of them take a step forward, the scenery around them changes completely. The lake and the ash tree disappear and are replaced by a well-kept field with a single path through it. Lined on both sides of the pathway are blank portraits. Lux stops and reexamines her surroundings. Elfe stops with her and turns back to her.

"Shall we?" Elfe invites her down the path.

Lux nods.

As they walk through the many portraits, Lux begins to see that some of the portraits were not empty. One of them portrayed Kai as he was protecting her from three cloaked figures who had broken into Kai's mansion. Another portrait depicted Kai beneath her after she had fallen off Tyson's roof. Yet another one showed him by her side when she was injured. She then noticed one showing him at her bedside when she had fallen ill at the Alfhild estate.

"These…pictures…" Lux recalls all of the events shown in them. She feels a little guilty now for having running away; her actions must've been quite a cause of concern to her friends...especially Kai.

The two of them stop at the edge of a lake at the end of the pathway.

"It's time for you to go back now." Elfe tells her momentarily snapping her from her thoughts.

Lux gazes for a while into the lake.

'When I find Kai...I'll tell him sorry.' she promises herself before stepping into it.

...

Kai stops running and looks around him. He then glances back at the map. There was no doubt about it; he was at an entrance to the Villa Torlonia. He proceeds to enter but is stopped by a man who seems to be part of a family of six tourists.

"Excuse me young man, could you take a picture of me and my family?" the man asks him, holding out his camera to him.

Kai was in no mood for this. He tells him, "I don't have time for this."

He then attempts to bypass him.

"Oh come on, just one picture, it won't take long!" the man urges him, stopping him again.

"Get out of my way!"

Kai shoves him away from the entrance of the park and runs past him inside. Passing through a grove of palm trees and wandering a little, he finds himself near some sort of monument or structure. As he looks around for Lux, a movement nearby catches his eye.

'There she is!' Kai begins to move towards her as she sits up, apparently having just awoken from a nap. He felt relieved to have found her but was slightly annoyed at the same time by the fact that she had been napping while he wandered through the city searching for her.

Lux rubs the sleep from her eyes and looks around her. Everything was dyed in a slightly yellower hue than earlier. Before long, her eyes land on an exhausted someone with two toned hair who is making his way towards her. She soon remembers why she was here and why she ran before. Not quite ready to face him yet, she forgets the promise she made to herself in her dream and begins to panic again. Getting up, she looks around for a way out.

She soon finds that it is too late however, as Kai is already almost directly in front of her. Still scared of the idea of having to say what was on her mind, she backs away from him but finds herself hitting the tree that she had been napping under. She looks back in front of her to find Kai immediately before her. In a last attempt to run away from the confrontation, she tries to slip out from between the tree and Kai but is stopped by a firm grasp on her wrist. The next thing she knew, she was tightly wrapped in his arms.

"You're not going anywhere." Kai whispers to her in her ear in a firm yet gentle tone.

He holds her this way for a while and soon feels her relax into him. Silently, the two of them stay in this position for a while. When he feels she is calm enough, he loosens his grip on her to try to talk to her.

"Something was bothering you back there, am I right?" Kai watches as she shifts her gaze from him. He takes her reaction to the question as a yes. He then wonders if he should ask what it is. There was only one thing that it could have been so in essence, he already knows the answer. He then thought back to the way she had ran off without saying anything.

'She probably wasn't ready to say anything or didn't want to...' He concludes as he continues to watch her.

He then assures her, "If you're not feeling up to it, you don't have to tell me or anyone about it…"

Lux turns back to him.

"Just don't ever run away from me again," Kai asks of her in a softer tone, "Okay?"

Lux shifts her eyes from him for a moment and then back to him. She then recalls the dream she had when she was napping and remembers all the times Kai had cared for her or protected her. Her feelings of appreciation of him and her feelings of guilt for running away returns.

"Okay." she answers.

Kai smiles and takes her hand. "Come on, let's go back."

As he turns to lead her to the exit, she stops him. "Wait..."

Kai turns back to her. "Hm?"

"Sorry." she says.

Kai stares at her for a moment. "What for...?"

"For running from you..." she answers.

Kai smiles and pulls her to him, holding her lightly with one arm. "Next time something bothers you, if you feel up to it, you can tell me…no matter what it is, 'kay?"

Lux nods, "Okay."

"Let's go," Kai leads her towards the exit of the park.


	38. Tempesta

**Hey guys! A thank you to all my readers, here is chapter 38! Please enjoy and I'd certainly appreciate feedback! ;)**

* * *

**CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT**

**~ Tempesta ~**

* * *

The sky slowly brightens as the stars and the faintly visible crescent begin to fade. Below, a one winged silhouette sits atop a ruined pile of metallic rubble. The sound of two sets of footsteps approaches at a steady pace and stop.

"…Like a duel

Between twin lions,

Equal in might

Matched in speed…"

Lok becomes silent and watches as the morning sun rises in the east. Zane and another man holding a black trunk appearing in his thirties stand at the edge of the rubble gazing up at him.

"You've a visitor, Lok." Zane tells him.

"The first half of the fourth part of Repose?" the man identifies. "I see you're still attached to that poem I read to you when you were a child."

Lok recognizes the voice and maintains his gaze towards the eastern horizon. He is silent for a while but then asks, "Why have you returned here, S.S.? I thought when I spared you that day I told you to go where you like."

"I've come by merely to say hi." The man called S.S. replies. "I'm here with some souvenirs. They're from an acquaintance I've made."

Lok does not show any interest but continues to watch as the sky slowly turns a pinkish hue and the clouds begin to grow luminous.

"I think you'll find this very useful to you." S.S. goes on, "The contents of this trunk are all yours."

S.S. hands over his trunk to Zane who receives it and places it on the ground to open it. As he sets his eyes on the contents, his eyes widen. "Lok, this is…"

"I figured you should be low on funds by now," S.S. states. "I thought this would be of use to you."

Lok eyes the contents from above the metallic mountain of rubble for a moment. "Conditions?"

"None." S.S. replies. "This is all merely a gift."

"I refuse to believe that." Lok states simply. "You can take it all back with you."

"As I said, it's a gift. If you don't like it, you may throw it away or give it to someone else." S.S. tells him. "I'll take my leave now, Lok."

S.S. turns to leave but stops and turns back momentarily, "You may find it interesting to pay a visit to Berlin, by the way. I believe someone there will be of interest to you."

With that, he began to disappear from their sight. Lok watches him go and then turns to the "gift" he left.

"Zane." Lok turns to his follower. "Begin making arrangements for me to go to Berlin."

"Yes," Zane replies.

"Also, contact Wyvynn."

...

The lambent light of morning illuminates a large, luxurious villa surrounded by lush, emerald, gardens. The air, saturated with the aroma of the nearby ocean and the forest's refreshing scent, permeates a sunlit hallway inside. Kai and Lux tread through this hallway, both in rather bright moods. Kai had decided to walk around to explore and get to know the interior of the place a little after breakfast since they will be here for a little while. Lux, not really interested going to the pool outside or any other activity the others decided on silently joined him, tagging quietly behind.

Kai glances at the girl behind him for a moment, watching her as she quietly admires the beautiful scenery outside the windows. He smiles at the sight, glad that she's back to normal and in a happy mood.

The two soon come to a pair of double doors where a maid exits, carrying some cleaning supplies with her. She greets the two of them and as she does, Lux catches a glimpse of the inside of the room. Interested in the room's contents, she stops. As the maid leaves, she quietly slips inside unnoticed.

Kai continues down the hallway and takes a turn. He then notices that the extra set of footsteps behind him is no longer audible. Turning around, he realizes that the girl must have entered the room they had just passed. Curious what she was up to, he backtracks to the room and turns the handle on the door to enter.

Once inside, he finds himself in a spacious room with a tall ceiling. The room appears to be a library or some form of storage for books. The first level of the room had many shelves lined up against the wall and in columns on both sides of the room. Two sets of stairs lead to the upper level of the room where more books are arranged on shelves against the wall.

Kai spots Lux on the second level standing on the second highest step on a wooden ladder pulling out a book from the shelf. He climbs up the stairs to where she is and begins to approach her. She turns to him a little surprised by his presence but happy to see him.

"Kai!" She jumps off the ladder energetically to greet him, the book she found on the shelf in hand.

Kai didn't really get the chance to say anything next as the movement on the ladder she had been using caught his eye. The momentum of Lux's jump had caused the ladder to tip and slide from its position. He watches as the base of the ladder hit the railings of the upper floor of the room while the top of the ladder collides with the lower portion of the shelf. The base of the shelf moves backwards more against the wall but the top begins to tip over.

Kai leaps forward towards Lux and pushes her out of the way just in time as the shelf and the books it contained fall over, settling into a huge heap on the spot where Lux had stood. The two of them lay on the floor, their bodies overlapping with one another. They stay that way for some moments as they mentally recover from the event that just transpired.

"Are you alright?" Kai asks her, pushing himself up a little from her and removing his arm from underneath her.

Lux nods slowly, slightly intoxicated by the scent of Kai's breath. Although her mind has already processed the fact that she is alright and no longer in danger, this is the first time that she had felt his face so close to hers. She then recalls the last time he had leaned over her like this at the estate in Sweden. Wondering if he was protecting her that time too from something, she decides to ask him about it as he sits up next to her.

"Last time…at the house in Sweden…" She asks innocently as she sits up as well, "Were you protecting me…that time too?"

"Huh?" Kai turns to her a little confused.

"When I woke up…and you were close to me…in my room." She specifies.

Kai remembers the incident she is referring to and turns from her, his face a little flushed. He wasn't protecting her from anything at all that time; the whole incident had happened because he had momentarily lost control of himself while alone with her in her room. Of course, he wouldn't want to tell her that…

"Uh…yeah." He answers her briefly, for once, glad that she is so innocent.

"Thank you!" she tells him happily.

He looks at her somewhat in stupor from his desperation to hide the reasons behind the incident. He does not realize the reason why she is thanking him.

"For both times…that you protected me." Lux finishes, a grateful smile on her features.

"Sure. No problem." Kai answers her, looking away. There was no way he could blame her actions for the day before now; he himself isn't even ready to express to her how he felt for her. He then turns back to her, "Listen…"

Lux tilts her head slightly, paying her utmost attention to him.

"Don't jump off a ladder like that next time." Kai tells her. "It can be dangerous."

"Okay." She responds with a willing smile, causing Kai to return a smile to her as well.

A thick volume that had fallen then catches Kai's eyes. It laid a little ways from the rest of the pile. The title of the book was printed in gold lettering and read, "A Collection of Old Fairytales, Folklores, and Legends".

Kai picks up the book and opens it, curious of its contents. Seeing his interest in the book, Lux makes her way behind him and looks over his shoulder at the contents.

...

A gentle breeze stirs some ripples in the water of a large fountain some distance away.

Wyvynn sits on the steps of an old fountain in the middle of the Piazza Fontana Grande in Viterbo. He watches as passersby comes and goes and as they enter and leave the shops at the plaza. The town appears small and old to him compared to Rome. Occasionally someone would notice him and eye him nonchalantly for a moment before carrying on with whatever business they had.

Wyvynn had become thoroughly bored. He could have chosen to keep following Lux and Kai, but he had already known where they'd be for the next few days and saw no point in terms of tracking. He wasn't even going to report their location anyway. Other than that, seeing them and their friends hang out was beginning to make him want to join in more and more. There was also the fact that the sight of Kai and Lux together made him wish he had a girlfriend too.

'…Then again, I can't really imagine Kai or Lux asking each other out so maybe they aren't together…' He then realizes what he was thinking. 'Why the hell do I even care if they're together or not, I'm not their friend, I'm not their enemy anymore and…'

Wyvynn gets up and sits at the edge of the fountain instead. Gazing into the water, he asks himself, 'Why the hell did I even follow them to Italy?'

A piercing ringing sounds, snapping Wyvynn from his thoughts. He pulls out his phone and reads the caller ID on the front display without answering it.

'It's Zane…' Wyvynn simply puts the device away, not bothering to shut off the sound.

He looks upwards at the sky and watches as the clouds float by. The ringtone eventually stops and he is left with the sounds of the plaza again.

'Did they find a way to locate them?' he asks himself in his mind. 'Why am I even keeping this thing on me? I've already betrayed them, practically…'

He recalls his lie when he reported back to Lok in Russia, the time he helped Lux in Gamla Stan, and when he sent a kid off to tell Kai where Lux is in Rome just the day before. He then realizes, 'I was afraid…that's why I still have this phone on me.'

He takes out the device again. It would appear Zane had left him a message. Deciding there is no reason for him to read the message, he gets up and holds the phone over the water of the fountain. Assuring himself one more time he was going to do this, he lets go of the phone and drops it in.

"There. I'm not doing this anymore!" He tells himself with a smile.

He then takes out a compass and looks around.

'What am I going to do now…? Lok's bound to come after me since he needs me at that altar…' Knowing that Kai and Lux are staying in a villa in Monte Argentario, he looks to the west. 'Well, they do seem to be a nice bunch. If I ask nicely maybe they'll let me join their group…'

...

Max stretches as he steps outside of the villa with Ray. He takes a moment to enjoy the fresh scent and the warm sun.

"It sure is refreshing here, huh?" Max notes as he begins to walk away from the villa and into the garden.

"Yeah," Ray agrees, walking with him. "The fact that it's so close to summer makes this place almost perfect."

"I hear there are a number of resorts around here." Max then suggests, "Maybe we should check them out a little later."

"I'd love to," Ray answers with a smile.

Their conversation is interrupted by a cheerful voice reading through something not too far away from the path on which they are walking. Max and Ray stop and turn to find Kai lying on the ground near a tree's roots with his hands behind his head and a blade of grass sticking out of his mouth. Lux sits against the same tree beside him with her legs bent away from Kai. In her hands is a thick book.

"…The little mermaid lifted her eyes to the sun…and felt them fill with tears…for the first time…" Lux reads, not noticing the two of them watching.

"She's sure improved a lot since she started learning how to read from Hilary." Max notes without interrupting her.

"Kenny sometimes helped her too." Ray adds. "Actually now that I think about it, I think Kenny taught her more than Hilary did."

They continue to listen to her read for a while.

"…but for each bad child…she shall cry and for each tear… a day will be added…before she may rise to the kingdom of God." Lux finishes reading the tale with a somewhat sullen look. She then comments, "I don't…like this story. The little mermaid…loved the prince. It's sad…"

"Well that's the original version of the story." Kai tells her with his eyes still closed. "By the way, you're still mispronouncing words occasionally and you're not reading very fluidly."

Lux appears a little depressed.

"But…" Kai goes on, dropping the leaf in his mouth, "You did better than the last one you read."

"Really?" Lux's eyes light up.

"Yeah." Kai answers her with a smile. "The book you were reading is for literary historians and scholars so it's fine if you trip a little."

Lux smiles to herself happily, warmed by the compliment.

"It's good to see that Kai has found someone he doesn't mind being with." Ray says quietly to Max while keeping his eyes on the two. "He used to always go off on his own."

"Yeah," Max agrees.

Lux then spots them and greets them, "Max! Ray!"

Kai sits up too now, as a way of greeting them.

Max and Ray look to each other and approach them.

"Hey," Ray returns their greeting.

"We were just out for a walk." Max tells them. He sits down with them and then indicates to the book, "I see you're practicing your reading skills."

Lux nods cheerfully. She then turns a page in the book.

"Where'd you get the book from?" Ray asks, sitting down on the grass as well.

"Library…inside." Lux answers.

She then begins to stare at the book. Noticing, Ray and Max move a little closer to see what she is looking at.

"Something the matter, Lux?" Max asks.

"This…is strange." Lux says to them. She then flips the book to them. "I don't understand it. What is Repose?"

"Huh?" Max takes the book and reads the page she indicated.

"Repose?" Ray defines the word to her, "It means sleep or rest, I think. Were you stumbling on the word?"

Lux nods somewhat.

"Repose…a latin text written in the fifth century…author unknown." Max reads out loud the text before the poem. "The original text eventually fell into a collection in Rinchnach Priory but was damaged in 1488 when the Hussites attacked and burnt down the monastery. As a result, the fifth and sixth parts of the poem are missing."

Kai moves closer to see the poem now.

"It's got quite some history, huh?" Ray comments.

"Yeah," Max agrees.

"What is the story…of Repose?" Lux asks, curious. "I could not understand it."

"Let's see…" Max then reads out loud for her,

"Hearts,  
Smeared by ambition,  
Create only misery.  
To sate curiosity,  
For the sake of pride,  
Chaste avarice;  
To the sufferer,  
They are the same.  
I shed a tear  
In remembrance.  
When the world is darkest,  
The goddess awakens  
And descends.

Under a starry sky,  
By each other pass  
The goddess and I.  
A condition,  
A power;  
A wish to be granted,  
A desire to recreate  
That which has been corrupted  
By the hearts of men.  
It is sealed.

Of like minds,  
I seek.  
A mystic of the arcane,  
A possessor of wisdom,  
A mighty creature,  
A loyal follower  
I find...  
My quest is opposed.  
A kingdom there exists,  
Two knights  
Savoring the contemporary.  
Enemies declared,  
My armies engage…"

Max stops and reads the rest silently to himself. He then concludes, "Uh…I'm not sure."

"Maybe there's an analysis of the text somewhere." Ray suggests.

Before they can find it however, a loud splash sounds in the distance.

"What was that?" Max asks.

"Why don't we go see?" Ray suggests to them.

They get up and head for the area where the pool is to find Tyson, Daichi and Hilary gathered by the edge of the half emptied pool and Kenny frantically trying to dry off his laptop with a towel. Everything around the pool appears wet. Climbing out of the pool in a soaking black, robe-like windbreaker is a man familiar only to Kai, Lux, and Max.

"Hey dude, what's the big idea dropping in and splashing us?" Tyson demands angrily.

"Yeah!" Daichi joins in.

"What happened?" Max asks.

"This guy fell out of the sky all of a sudden and got us all wet." Tyson explains to him.

"Uhm…Sorry about that," the guy apologizes.

"Hey wait," Max recognizes him now. "You're the guy we met in Gamla Stan."

"Huh?" Tyson turns to his friend a little confused.

"You guys know him?" Daichi asks.

"Yeah…this was the guy who helped Lux get her wallet back." Max tells them. "Right Lux?"

Lux nods. "Yes, Mr. Stranger helped me."

"I'm not Mr. Stranger, my name's Wyvynn." Wyvynn corrects her.

"Mr. Wyvynn?" Lux repeats his name.

"Just call me Wyvynn," he tells her.

"Wait…so this guy was in Gamla Stan…and now he's here." Daichi brainlessly mouths out loud. It then hit him. He then points a finger at him. "You were following us!"

Kenny finishes drying off his laptop and sighs in relief before joining them.

"Woah…wait. Hang on, so you were following us and then you fell from the sky and splashed us…." Tyson crosses his arms and examines him more. "You even have that glow in your eyes. You're one of those Magnanima freaks who are after Lux, aren't you? Well she's our friend and you're not getting your hands on her!"

Wyvynn looks frozen for a second by the accusation. "Wait, hold on, I'm not here for that!"

"Then what are you here for?" Max asks.

"Okay, listen." Wyvynn pauses them. "Let me get one thing straight! If I wanted to kidnap Lux I could have done it at the estate, in Gamla Stan, and even in Rome. I wouldn't have to come and drop in with a big splash so you all know I'm here uninvited, now chill out!"

"So…you were stalking her even then?" Hilary asks.

"I…it's…just…" Wyvynn was quite taken aback. He straightens himself out and then tries to express himself again, "It's not what you think!"

"Guys, let's give him a chance to explain." Ray tells the rest.

"Wyvynn…" Kai addresses him.

Wyvynn turns to Kai, his face almost begging for Kai to go easy on him with the words.

"You said you could have kidnapped her in Rome. Were you the one who told the kid to direct me to Villa Torlonia?"

"Uh…well…yeah." Wyvynn answers.

"Why'd you help us?" Kai asks bluntly.

"I just...Look, you guys are right, I have been following you around," Wyvynn admits. "I was sent to. Lok sent me to look for and keep an eye on you - Kai and Lux, namely. But I swear, I didn't tell him where you guys were. I lied and told him I couldn't find you...I did that because...I had been watching you guys. When you guys were training, hanging out, havin' lunch. It looked like fun...and it made me think twice about what Lok had told me."

"What did he tell you?" Tyson asks.

"That we are different from the rest of the world. That we'd never fit in, or be accepted by others." Wyvynn then goes on, "…And that if anyone discovered what we are, we'd be shunned and maybe even go through the same hell again. And going through all that again...I'd never want that. It was why I went along. But then I saw how you guys treat Lux. She and I...are the same in terms of the changes made to us. The only difference is that she doesn't remember any of it."

Lux glances down at her feet, a more somber expression visible on her features. Kai takes notice of her change of mood.

"Anyway I came to ask if you guys might...let me become one of your friends too." Wyvynn continues. "That and...to be honest, Lok will soon realize I've changed sides and hunt for me. I won't ask for you guys to protect me or anything. I just wanted to join you. I'm not out to hurt Lok, but if I can, I'd like to see if I can convince him to change."

The group, with the exception of Lux, watch him, silenced by the sincerity of his speech.

"I know you guys probably don't trust me and I don't blame you." Wyvynn begins to turn from them. "Sorry about the water by the way, I had a bad landing coming here. Just so you guys will know where to find me, I'll be hanging around Forte Stella. It's a fortress near here."

With that, he leaves them.

"Hey wait!" Tyson tries to stop him.

Wyvynn was gone.

"Should we trust him?" Hilary asks the rest.

"He seemed pretty sincere." Max comments.

"But it's not like it's impossible for that to have been fabricated." Ray points out.

"I don't think he made that up." Tyson says to the rest.

"Yeah…" Daichi adds.

"Guy's this is all kinda sudden." Kenny then suggests. "Why don't we all think about it a little first?"

"I agree." Ray concurs.

"Yeah, me too." Max joins him.

"Oh, but come on!" Tyson whines. He turns to Lux, "Lux, you believe him too don't you? Didn't he help you before?"

Lux continues to gaze downwards without responding.

"Tyson," Kai stops him. "He said he'd be at Forte Stella."

"Yeah, so?" Tyson retorts.

"It means he gave us time to think this over." Kai explains to him. "So in other words, it doesn't hurt to consider it a bit first. Now, I personally agree with Kenny. We _should_ think it over before we decide he's our buddy."

"Fine…" Tyson grumbles, dissatisfied by the fact that the others did not agree with him.

...

Soon, it had become noon. Tyson, angry with the others for not agreeing with him ate by himself. Lux, however, did not quite cheer up from earlier. After lunch, she had returned the book to the room she had found it in but left it to the maids to put all the books and the shelf back in its place. Kai could not help but notice her mood. Clearly, something had bothered her from when Wyvynn came by earlier, but she had not said anything about it yet.

The two of them step outside to find that the weather had begun to change a little. Whereas the morning had been sunny and bright, the clouds now cover a considerable portion of the sky, casting a greying spell on the land below.

"I will go over there." Lux points south to let Kai know. She then begins to walk in that direction at a lazy pace.

Kai watches her go for a while, concerned for her. 'Maybe I should go with her and make sure she's alright…'

Deciding it would probably be best, he silently follows her.

Lux eventually comes to a cliff at the edge of the tied island and takes a seat at a part that juts out a little, setting her bag down behind her. She looks up at the seagulls overhead for a while, her flowing hair waving gently in the sea breeze. One of the seagulls eventually land beside her. She turns to it.

"Hello," she tells it.

The seagull looks at her in response, not much of an expression on its face. She watches it and smiles gently. Realizing she has something it might like, she reaches into her bag and takes out a small bag of croutons she had saved from lunch. Spotting the bag of food, the bird immediately moves closer to her.

"So you do like these." Lux notes happily, opening the small bag for it. She then sets it beside her on the cliff and offers it to the small creature. "Here,"

Soon after the first bird began to peck at it, two other seagulls nearby join in and does the same. Eventually, the contents of the small bag are depleted and the two birds that had joined in fly away again. Lux waves at them as they go, the smile disappearing from her face.

The first bird that had dropped by looks at her for a while and walks in a circle as if hoping for more. Lux takes notice of it again and apologizes, "Sorry…"

The bird stops and looks at her.

"I don't have more." Lux tells it.

The bird flutters off but comes back and lands on her lap. The ticklish sensation causes her to giggle a little, "Stop that!"

The bird hops off her and settles back to the place where it had been beside her. Kai watches unknown to her from a distance near some trees as the two stay this way silently for a while.

"Today…someone came by to visit." Lux tells the bird. The bird does not understand a word of what she is saying but hangs around anyway. "He said that…there are changes…to us."

The bird continues to walk around in a circle, occasionally picking off any small crouton crumbs that it might find.

Lux looks upwards at the sky again. "…I'm different…from Kai and the others."

Hearing that, Kai remembers the things he had learned from Ventus about what the lab in Russia had done to Lux.

"There's a light…in my eyes. I know that…the others…don't have that. No one else…but them…and I…have it." Lux continues, "How different…am I? Am I…still…human?"

'So that's…what it was.' Kai continues to watch her, realizing what it was that bugged her. He stays silent, pondering on a way that could cheer her up.

The sky continues to grow darker as more clouds gather and the wind begins to howl. After a small while more passes, the bird beside her takes off and disappears into the distance. Lux watches it go, a little disappointed that her companion has left.

A bright light flashes in the sky, and is soon followed by booming thunder. Kai wakes up from his thoughts and realize that it might soon be more important for him to convince the girl to return to the house with him first before he tries to deal with her worries.

Lux hugs her knees to her and simply gazes out at the ocean, not really feeling like moving from the spot despite the worsening weather. Moments later, Kai feels a droplet of water on him and looks up at the sky. Rain had started falling and it soon turns into pouring. The sea is now visibly churned by the weather and the wind blows in violent gusts.

Kai turns back to Lux. Seeing as she still does not appear to have the slightest intention to move from the spot, he decides to make his way towards her to try to take her back to the house. 'If she stays here, she'll catch a cold.'

Hearing him approach, Lux turns around. "Kai…?"

"We have to go back." Kai tells her, extending his hand for her.

She is hesitant at first but as she is no longer alone here anyway, she nods and gets up to take it. As she does, a powerful gust of wind hits them, causing Lux, who had been wearing a pair of heeled sandals, to lose her balance and fall to the side. Kai attempts to grab her hand but fails, watching in horror as she falls over and plunges into the sea below.

"LUX!"


	39. Only Seven Stars

**Thanks to Brillerai, Delirium1015, Anonymous and Sprintingfever for the reviews!**

**Other than that, please enjoy the new chapter and any feedback you have for me would be gladly appreciated!**

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**CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE**

**~ Only Seven Stars ~**

* * *

The heavens rage and the clouds move rapidly. White lights flash in the sky along with grumbling and claps of thunder. The wind howls and travels diagonally in the air, dumping heavy waves of rain down.

"Lux!" Kai calls to her, rushing to the edge of the cliff and frantically searching for a glimpse of her below. Lux's head surfaces for a moment as she waves her limbs in a desperate attempt to keep herself afloat. However, she sinks quickly when the wind stirs up a large wave that buries her underwater.

'She can't swim…' Kai observes. 'If I don't do something fast, she'll drown!'

He looks around; both land and sea in sight are void of people and boats. Seeing as there is no other way to retrieve her, Kai stands up and takes a deep breath. He then dives into the water. Holding his breath under the waves, he looks around in the dim light of the storm and quickly spots her some ways below him. He swims down to her and attempts to grab a hold of her but the frantic girl, desperate for air, reacts violently, unable to recognize him.

'Argh!' Kai grunts mentally as he receives a painful scratch from her on his arm. He winces as the seawater begins to sting the newly inflicted wound.

Attempting again, Kai makes his way behind her where he is immune to most of her fury of distressed and unfocused attacks and wraps a strong arm around her waist. He then begins to propel them both to the surface. Upon emerging into the pouring atmosphere, they immediately gasp for air.

The two are not home free however; the sky roars and a sizeable wave covers them, moving them steadily away from land. Unable to recognize Kai and unable to breathe again, Lux struggles to try to free herself from the restraint around her body.

'Dammit, if this keeps up, we're both going to get washed out to sea.' Kai succeeds in bringing them both up again for another breath of air but they are soon submerged by the waves again. 'I've gotta try to get to shore and it seems the only way is to try to swim there from underwater…'

Kai then turns his attention to the Lux as he tries to make his way to the surface. Although he has managed to take a breath in, she seems to have failed to and is struggling again in an attempt to breathe. 'She doesn't seem to know how to hold her breath in the water. Guess I'll have no choice but to try to teach her now…'

"Lux," Kai addresses her upon resurfacing. She does not respond as she is still gasping for air and coughing out water. However, recognizing him by the sound of his voice, she stops resisting him. "Listen…"

Kai is cut off as a wave hits them again. Nonetheless, Kai tries to keep them both at the surface. "Take a very deep breath-"

A roar of thunder cuts him off.

"…and try to hold it in. I'm going to try to get us to shore…" He tries again to communicate with her.

Kai takes a deep breath as another wave washes over them.

"Do you understand?" Kai finally manages to finish as Lux coughs out some water.

She nods, somewhat comprehending him before another wave hits them. Kai promptly brings them both back up above the surface.

"You know what to do, right?" Kai asks her to ascertain her comprehension.

Lux coughs and turns her head to him. "Do…?"

"When I say to, breathe in and don't breathe out for a while." Kai rephrases.

Lux nods. Soon the water engulfs them again.

As soon as they emerge, he shouts to her, "Now!"

They both take a huge breath before Kai ducks, holding her in one arm, back underwater. Propelling the two of them with all his might, Kai heads towards the direction of land. As they near it however, Lux's breath runs out and she again frantically attempts to get air. He holds onto her the best he can and soon manages to get them both onto a rocky shore where they climb up some ways out of the water and collapse from their exhaustion and lack of breath.

They both rest for a while in the rain, their wet clothing, soaked and sticking to their bodies. Kai rolls over to sit down on the small rocky shore as Lux continues to cough out seawater.

"You know…" Kai pants, catching his breath still. "You're a handful."

Her lack of response causes him to turn to her to see her leaning against the base of a nearby cliff, still clearing her passages of water. "Are you alright?"

She wipes her mouth with the back of her hand and nods slightly.

"Does anything hurt?" He asks just to make sure she wasn't injured during her fall into the ocean. Although there were no obstacles visible, the cliff was of a fair height and impact with the water's surface if made in a poor position could result in injury.

She does not respond immediately but eventually shakes her head a little.

Kai looks around them. He had pulled them both to a mild slope of rocks but all around them were steep cliffs that were too dangerous to climb without any equipment as aid.

'Well isn't this wonderful…' Kai remarks sarcastically in his mind. 'These cliffs are way too steep to climb, Lux can't swim and to top it all off, there's a raging storm overhead that we can't take shelter from…'

As if purposely adding to Kai's displeasure, a bolt of lightning flashes and a loud booming noise follows, affirming the truth of their situation.

"It looks like we're stuck here until someone finds us." Kai tells Lux, turning back to her.

Lux pushes herself off the wall of the cliff and turns to face him. She then asks, "Are we...going to be…okay?"

"Yeah…" Kai tells her. He then turns back to the steep cliffs that surround them. "As long as lightning doesn't hit one of the cliffs near us anyway…"

...

At the villa, Tyson, Kenny, Daichi and Hilary sit quietly in the drawing room, waiting out the storm. They had come inside when the storm hit since it would be dangerous to play at the pool and now Tyson was growing impatient.

"Man, you'd imagine Ventus to have at least one gaming console or something in here." He begins to complain.

"Quiet down, Tyson, it's not like anyone even live here normally other than the maids." Kenny reasons with him. "How do you expect him to even have something like that here anyway?"

"Yeah, I bet he has more important things to do than play video games all day." Hilary adds, further irritating him.

"Okay, but then what about a working TV?" Daichi joins in.

"There's a storm outside," Kenny tells him, continuing to type on his laptop. "The TV works but obviously not in violent weather when the reception is bad."

The front door clicks open and Max and Ray enter to join them.

"Hey guys." Ray greets them.

"Max! Ray!" Tyson greets them happy that they are here. He then comments on their appearance, "You guys are soaking wet."

"Yup, we just made it back from town." Max tells him.

"The storm caught us by surprise." Ray adds.

The door opens again to admit Tala, Bryan, Spencer and Ian.

"Wow…everyone's here." Ian comments on the crowd that had gathered.

"Not quite." Tala corrects him. "Kai and Lux aren't here."

"Where are they?" Daichi asks.

"Beats me," Max tells the rest. "We haven't seen them since lunch."

"Well we haven't seen them all day." Bryan tells them.

"You think they're okay out there?" Hilary wonders out loud, concerned.

"Hm…" Ray looks around. "I think maybe we should go look for them."

"Why?" Max asks.

Ray then reasons, "I don't think Kai or Lux would have gone too far from here; they don't seem to be the type who'd be interested in the resorts. The fact that Max and I were all the way in town and got back already kind of tells me they might have gotten into some trouble."

"I agree." Kenny joins in. "Kai might be a loner and I don't know if he particularly likes being out in the rain but I don't think he'd let Lux stay out with him in this weather."

"Oh come on, the guy's probably just fine!" Tyson interrupts them, still angry with Kai for earlier and trying to hide his own worry from the rest. He turns from them towards the window. "I bet he's having a nice cup of coffee in a café somewhere with Lux and trying to impress her while waiting the rain out. In fact, I'm sure of it."

"Tyson, can you knock it off?" Ray raises his voice at him. "Max and I were just at Porto Santo Stefano. If Kai and Lux were there, I think we would have seen them on the way there after lunch even if they did stay in a café for the storm."

"And there's no way they're at Porto Ercole. We were hanging out there all day." Tala adds.

This silenced Tyson. There were no cafés in the middle of the woods after all and those are the only towns around other than Orbetello, which is located across the lagoon. Not to mention, taking shelter under a tree in a thunderstorm is actually a very bad idea.

"Fine." Tyson begins to make his way to the front door. "You guys do whatever you want. I'm going to go for a walk."

"Uh…Tyson," Hilary stops him. "You're going for a walk…in _this_ weather?"

Tyson turns back to her. "So what if I am?"

"Are you out of your mind?" Hilary asks him.

Having nothing else to say, he ends up telling her, "No, I'm not and I'll be just fine! Now leave me alone!"

He runs out, not even bothering to close the door behind him.

Hilary sighs, "I just wish he'd act more mature…"

"So now what do we do?" Max asks.

"I'd say we go look for Kai and Lux." Ray proposes.

"But where do we start?" Daichi asks.

"How about we split up so we can cover more ground?" Ray suggests. "Kenny, can you bring up a map of the area?"

"Yup, just give me a second." Kenny responds, typing briefly on the keyboard. He then flips his laptop to them. "Here. I've marked our current location with an X too."

"Okay, so Max and I will search here on the west side of the island…Hilary and Daichi will try this area here on the east…Tala and Ian can go here and search up north…and Spencer and Bryan will search the southern portion." Ray indicates to them.

"What about me?" Kenny asks.

"I think it's probably best if you wait here in case they come back." Ray tells him. "That way you can let us know."

"Ok, sounds like a good plan." Max agrees to it.

"We're in too." Tala chips in for his team.

"We should probably meet back here in three hours with whatever we find." Ray adds. "Everybody ready?"

"Yeah!"

...

The rain continues to pour but at a much slower rate than before. Some breaks have also begun to appear in the clouds. Lux sits on a large rock, still rather soaked and looking up at the gold lit storm clouds wondering when they can go home while Kai stands gazing at the slowly, calming ocean.

"How are you feeling?" Kai asks her, turning from the sea to her. "Are you cold?"

Lux turns to Kai and nods just a little as a moderate breeze causes her wet form to shiver.

Kai takes a seat beside her on the rock and wraps an arm around her, pulling her towards him to share some of his body heat with her. The two stay this way for a while as they continue to wait for the storm to pass and for help to come.

Lux then notices a bleeding cut on Kai's arm and touches it lightly with one finger. "Blood…"

Kai flinches at the touch.

"Does it hurt?" she asks him.

"It's nothing." Kai tells her. He had gotten the cut from her when he was trying to bring her to the surface of the water earlier. Although normally not particularly strong, the girl had been terribly violent when on the verge of drowning.

As if sensing her guilt or simply concerned, Lux pulls out a handkerchief from a pocket of her dress. She twists it to force the water out and then starts to bandage his cut with it, finishing with a small knot.

"There," she smiles. "Now it will be better."

Kai smiles at the intention even though he is aware from the way she had bandaged him that it will likely not in any way accelerate the wound's healing. He holds her closer to him, causing her to look up at him momentarily.

"Just so you know, no matter what anyone says and no matter how different your eyes are…" Kai says as the rain begins to lighten. "To me, you're human."

Lux is startled by the statement but smiles and rests her head on his shoulder as the storm clouds begin to clear away in the distance.

...

Tyson wanders aimlessly through the woodlands of the southeastern portion of the tied island. Although still raining, it has become only a light mist. In the back of his mind, he wonders why he had said all those things and ran off. In truth he had really wanted to look for Kai and Lux as well even if Kai had hurt his pride a little earlier.

'Man, what am I doing?' he asks himself. 'Maybe I should just go back and apologize. But more importantly, I wonder if Kai and Lux made it back yet…'

As is about to turn back, two voices catch his attention and he walks a little down the path to find Daichi and Hilary shouting at the top of their lungs for Kai and Lux.

"Daichi? Hilary?" Tyson runs up to them. "Has Kai and Lux still not come back?"

They stop and turn to him. "Oh, hey Tyson, and no, they haven't. Have you seen them?"

"No…" Tyson answers. Feeling somewhat bad for earlier, he then offers, "Let me help too. I can shout with you guys."

They nod and continue the search together. Eventually they find themselves shouting near the top of a hill where an old fortress is located.

"KAI!"

"LUX!"

After a while of shouting and getting no response, they stop.

"Maybe they're not in this area…" Tyson suggests after getting no responses for a while.

"Should we try somewhere else?" Daichi asks.

Before anyone can answer him, a thud sounds behind them and a voice greets them, "Yo."

"Waaah!" Tyson and Daichi scream, alarmed by the sudden presence of the guy they met earlier.

"Ouch, my ears…" he whines, closing his ears with his hands.

Tyson peaks under the hood of the guy's windbreaker, "Wyvynn?"

"Hey, I heard you guys shouting a little ways away." He greets them. "You guys looking for something? I didn't quite hear you too clearly but maybe I can help."

"Yeah, we are. Have you seen either Kai or Lux somewhere?" Tyson asks him.

"Yeah at the pool with you earlier but if you mean after that, no." Wyvynn answers.

"Oh…nevermind." Tyson glances down dejected.

"Why?" Wyvynn asks. "'They missing?"

"Yeah, how'd you know?" Daichi asks.

"Why else would you be looking for them…?" Wyvynn returns, somewhat amazed he even had to ask.

"Well…we'll keep searching for them. Can you let us know if you see them?" Tyson asks.

"Uhm...sure...but, listen," Wyvynn tells him. "If you guys need help finding them, just ask me."

"Huh?" Tyson looks at him a little confused. "What do you mean? Didn't you say you haven 't seen them?"

"Yeah…but I more or less already know where they are." Wyvynn takes out a pair of binoculars.

Daichi stares at him. "How do you know where they are?"

"Well…." Wyvynn takes out his compass as well. "We Magnanimae are a little special."

The three of them watch him as he begins to look around.

"All Magnanimae emit an aura that can be felt by one another within a set radius. We can learn to hide it but in Lux's case, she has no clue how to control it so her aura has been as prominent as a set of exploding fireworks to me for as long as I can remember." Wyvynn stops and looks in the southwest direction. "That was how Lok kept track of her in Japan."

"Then you can point us in the right direction?" Tyson asks.

"Yup, she's somewhere right over there." Wyvynn points into the distance in front of him. He then tells them, "But they're quite far from here. Why don't you let me look for their exact location and I'll either bring them back to the villa or come back and let you know where they are so you can pick them up yourself. You can wait at the villa in the meantime."

"Uh…sure…I guess." Tyson replies. "But why don't we come with you?"

"If you came with me I'd be hindered in terms of movement speed." Wyvynn answers as he puts the compass away and gets ready do to something. Then, without warning, a strong wind surrounds him and he begins to accelerate quickly into the sky and disappears from view, leaving behind a flabbergasted Tyson, Hilary and Daichi staring after him.

"He…can fly." Tyson mouths astounded.

"He must be very good at stalking Lux…" Daichi comments.

"No kidding…" Hilary agrees. She then turns to Tyson and Daichi, "So do we go wait at the villa like he says?"

"Well if he didn't do anything to hurt us all this time that he's already been following us, I don't see why he'd start now of all times." Tyson reasons.

"Yeah, I guess you're right" Daichi agrees.

"Well, whatever you say, Tyson." Hilary sighs.

"Alright, it's settled!" Tyson leads the other two back.

...

Wyvynn floats a great distance above the sea on the south side of the tied island and looks through his binoculars. The wind, fierce at this altitude, causes his hair and windbreaker to flutter.

"Hm…" he grumbles a little to himself. "I could have sworn I felt them from around here…but I can't see them anywhere."

He flies in a little closer, careful to stay high enough to avoid becoming visually discernible to anyone who might be on the ground. He then spots something hanging off a tree branch sticking out the side of a cliff. Seeing as no one is in the area, he glides closer and examines the object.

"It's Lux's bag…" He recognizes it from when she wore it in Gamla Stan and from earlier. He picks it up and then looks downwards at the gold lit sea. "Don't tell me they've…"

Noticing a boat approaching in the distance, he ascends again as quickly as he can.

"Phew…that was close." He sighs in relief. He certainly didn't want to make the headlines the next day as the first human being to be discovered capable of flight without the use of technology. Raising his binoculars again to his eyes, he searches some more.

...

The sun soon dips below the western horizon. The sky is a dark shade of blue and the stars have begun to appear. By now, the rain has stopped completely and the sea has returned to normal. Kai sits on a large rock in the narrow, cliff-surrounded cove with Lux who had fallen asleep sometime earlier. Although still damp, their clothing has dried off significantly during their wait. Kai watches the girl sleep peacefully with her head on his lap. With no way to start and maintain a fire and with the sky growing darker and darker, their chance of being rescued by the end of the day appears quite small.

A seagull flies by and perches on a small rock before them. It looks at them and then flutters onto Kai's lap, causing a reaction to escape from him. Sensing the movement, Lux begins to wake up from her nap just as the seagull took off into the air. She pushes herself up and off of Kai and looks around, catching a glimpse of the bird before it disappears from view.

"Bird…" she says sleepily, sitting up.

Kai turns her. "Slept well?"

Lux rubs her eyes a little and nods. "We're still here…"

"Yeah." Kai then tells her, "We might have to stay here for the night since it's getting dark. I doubt there will be many boats out there once it's nighttime."

Lux looks up at the sky to see that it has indeed grown dark. The sky is barely lit and everything seems to be dyed in dark blue. Her stomach then let's out a sound, causing her to return her gaze from above.

"Hungry…"she mumbles at the feeling in her stomach.

Having nothing that would help her on him, Kai chooses not to say anything but a voice answers her complaint from above them.

"Here, eat this."

A pack of chocolates is tossed in Lux's direction and lands on her lap. Kai and Lux, both startled by the action looks up to see Wyvynn landing on the rocky little cove before them. Kai stands up in front of Lux to bar Wyvynn from her and eyes him in distrust.

"Hey don't look at me like that; I'm not here to do any harm and it's not like I gave her poison." Wyvynn tells him. "I'm only here because I ran into your friends earlier and they seemed like they needed help looking for you two."

Lux peaks out from behind Kai to see what is going on.

"Then you're here to help us?" Kai asks him, a little less tense.

"You don't trust me, do you?" Wyvynn then holds out a familiar bag for him. "Anyway, I found this hanging off a cliff. It's belongs to her, right?"

Upon seeing it, Lux emerges from behind Kai and accepts the bag happily. She then turns to Wyvynn with a grateful smile, "Thank you, Mr. Wyvynn."

"Uh…yeah…sure…" Wyvynn answers her. "You can drop the 'Mr.', by the way."

Kai takes some steps towards her as she wears the bag around her shoulders.

"So you two must be stuck here…" Wyvynn eyes the two of them and the tall cliffs that surround them. "Let's see…you're too heavy for me to carry you both at once to the top of the cliff and I'm willing to bet you don't trust me enough to let me carry you two separately…"

"You're right about that if you mean that I don't trust you enough to give you the chance to fly off with her." Kai remarks.

Wyvynn sighs. "Well, then I guess I don't have a choice."

Wyvynn looks around and up.

Wondering what he'd do next, Kai places an arm around Lux to secure her to him just in case.

Seeing as no one else seems to be around, Wyvynn leaps upwards to where the top of the cliffs are and stays at that height afloat. He checks again for people. Finding no one above at the cliff top either, he looks back down at them. "I'll be right back with help, ok?"

Kai and Lux watch him as he goes and disappears from sight. Seeing as he is now out of sight, the two of them return to their seats before. Lux then turns to Kai.

"It is ok to eat this?" she indicates to the bag of chocolates.

Kai examines the bag for a little. It is still fully packaged and doesn't appear to have been tampered with. Other than that the guy did say it's not poison. "Yeah…I guess."

Lux sits back down on the rock and happily begins to unwrap and consume the treats. Kai looks out to sea for a moment before joining her on the rock.

...

An hour passes and then two. The two of them sit simply listening to the sound of the waves crashing onto the shore. Not knowing the time and already plenty tired, Lux begins to lean on Kai's shoulder, ready to doze off again. Having nothing else to do during this time, Kai gazes up at the stars. The night sky here, undisturbed by artificial light glitters brightly everywhere. Feeling Lux shift her head, Kai turns to her for a moment to find her looking upward at the stars too.

"They're bright…" she smiles, noting their clarity in the sky. She begins to count them. "One…two…three…four…five…six…seven…Seven of them."

Kai looks back up at the sky. He corrects her, "There are a lot more than just seven of them."

Lux silently continues to gaze at the sky for a while, her eyes scanning for more. "But I can see…only seven."

Kai turns back to her, watching her gaze into the sky. Although it had never been asked or brought up, it would seem the girl has a problem with her eyesight. Finding it a shame that she can see only the seven brightest stars, he holds her gently to him before resuming his stargazing.

Soon a sound in the distance grows and approaches. Waking up again, Lux opens her eyes to see a light approach them.

"A boat must be nearby." Kai informs her. The two of them climb down a few rocks to get closer to the approaching vessel.

"HEEEEEY!" a familiar voice calls out to them, spotting them from the approaching boat.

"How in the world did you two get shipwrecked all the way here?" Tala greets them from the boat.

"We weren't shipwrecked." Kai returns the greeting.

"Whatever, just get on the boat." Tala tells them, throwing a lifeboat out to them.

...

Under the same starry sky in the silent night, Zane carefully folds a gigantic wing over the rest of Lok's body by the light of the moon. Once finished, he wipes off the sweat on his forehead with the back of his sleeve. He then pulls out his phone.

"Lok," he addresses the creature in the coffin. "It seems Wyvynn has still not responded."

"He will likely never respond." Lok tells him. "Proceed for now without him. Our preparations are now complete."

Complying with his decision, Zane shuts the lid of the coffin and continues the remainder of the shipping procedure.


	40. Panna Cotta

**Sorry about the late update but I've been kept busy already (namely by my quantum professor...).**

**So, as usual, any feedback you have for me would be very welcomed. Enjoy the chapter, and thank you to erikamakino and Brillerai for the reviews!**

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**CHAPTER FORTY**

**~ Panna Cotta ~**

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Tyson stretches cheerfully as he steps out of the car and into the warmth of the early summer afternoon.

"Man, that trip was awesome!" Tyson happily marches towards the Alfhild's Villa. "Especially that buffet…"

Hilary sighs after him as she steps out of the car next. She then questions the appropriateness of his current behavior as she watches him approach the villa's front door, "How is he _still_ so carefree when the big day is only the day after tomorrow…?"

It has been about a week now since they had begun to stay at the Alfhild's villa in Monte Argentario. The group had just returned from a two day sightseeing trip in which they toured most or all of the best places in Venice with Enrique as their guide. Enrique, having felt bad for the disturbance caused by the two girls whom he had brought along for lunch some days ago, had come by to visit at the villa to even things up. Initially, Lux had been somewhat unhappy to see Enrique as she was afraid of having to see Cornelia and Flavia again. However, upon being reassured that neither of them will be near her or Kai, she quickly switched to a friendlier disposition towards him. The idea of going to Venice, though, was brought up randomly in conversation and consented to by the group on a complete whim.

Simultaneously, Wyvynn, who had helped the group locate Kai and Lux when the two were stranded, had slowly begun to hang out more often with the group. They had decided ultimately, that since he could follow them wherever they went anyway, they might as well openly let him tag along. Ventus had frowned upon their choice when first informed of the matter but approved of it after some thought and a brief chat with the guy. So far, that decision has not been a disappointment; although a little arrogant sometimes, Wyvynn has been a willing source of aid whenever asked. He has also proven himself very knowledgeable of the world, in contrast to Lux who still lacks some common sense. Kenny had also found Wyvynn to be an expert in hacking and IT security. He had admitted to the group that he, like Lux, is proficient in a vast number of programming languages. When asked for the reason of this, Wyvynn informed them that they were individually forced to either learn the skills or die of oxygen deprivation in a sealed room. Lux had somewhat of a response to his statement as if it triggered something in her but gave no verbal comment.

The others soon emerge from the cars that carried them as well.

"It's fine for now, Hilary." Ray justifies for his friend cheerfully. "It doesn't do any good for us to build up anxiety early and it's not as if anything has appeared to have gone wrong."

"Yeah, I agree with Ray on this one." Kenny adds. "If we become overly nervous, we're actually more prone to mistakes when the big day comes."

"Hm…I guess you're right." Hilary agrees with them. "I just can't believe how close we are to resolving all of this."

Watching Tyson some more, she adds, "…Or the fact that this has more or less became a vacation for that matter."

"Hey, just relax and have some fun." Max tells her as Tala and the rest of the Blitzkrieg Boys join them.

They soon begin to approach the villa as well to enter. Once inside, one of the maids approaches them.

"Welcome back," the maid greets them. She then turns to Kai and tells him. "There is a video call for you from Master Ventus."

...

Elsewhere, in an office brightly lit by the afternoon's golden rays, a man in his thirties dressed in a black suit stands before a large, neat desk. Behind the desk, before the large polished window, sits another man hidden completely from the first by the large seat.

"Have you delivered it to him as instructed, S.S.?" the man behind the desk asks.

"Yes, I have." S.S. reports. "I have also directed him to Berlin as you have requested, sir. According to the monitoring system in place, he has been spotted at various high points in the city at nighttime between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m."

"Good." The man tells him. "Your work is done for now. I will have a different team follow up with surveillance and capture. Once we have them, you shall resume your previous post as B1-101's caretaker. You may go."

"Yes, sir." S.S. responds politely as he steps out of the room.

...

It has been more than half an hour into the video call now. Ventus had mostly called to say hi and remind them that they will start their operations soon but this quickly became a discussion of their vacation in Venice when a vacation-mode Tyson joined the conversation.

"…and I still can't believe there were Italian dishes I haven't tried yet." Tyson finishes after having listed or described every dish he had at the buffet.

Sighs sound behind him as Kai mentally and sarcastically concurs with him, 'Yeah, I can't believe _that_ either.'

"I thought I've tried them all the last time I came to Italy." Tyson adds.

"I am glad you have had such an enjoyable experience in Venice, Tyson." Ventus comments in as pleasant a tone as he could muster to hide his indifference. "Now if you are done, I'd like a word with Lux."

"Oh, yeah sure." Tyson happily brings the doll-like girl to the front of the camera by her arm. "Here she is!"

Nervous and somewhat uncomfortable to be the center of attention, Lux faces the display with a more or less confused look on her features. Lux had been familiarized with the concept of a video call within the last few days but this is the first time she was directly in front of the camera and microphone for one.

"Hello, Lux." Ventus greets her with a friendly smile.

The girl nervously replies to her cousin, "…Hello."

"Did you enjoy your visit to Venice?" Ventus asks her.

She simply nods slowly in reply.

"I'm glad." Ventus comments with a kind smile. "I am enjoying my trip here in Berlin as well."

He then takes out a small object from the pocket of his suit.

"I've also bought a souvenir for you." Ventus shows her the small, jeweled hairpin he had pulled out. It seems to be in the design of an edelweiss flower.

"Souvenir." Lux repeats. She shifts her gaze to the hair pin for a moment.

"Do you like it?" he asks her.

She turns back to him but does not answer.

"As I've said earlier, I should be back tomorrow." He tells her.

Lux shows no response to the statement.

He then adds in a brotherly tone, "Lux, when everything is over, I'll arrange for you to come home, okay?"

"Come…home?" Lux looks at him confused.

"Our house in Sweden." Ventus clarifies. "I'll arrange for you to move back there."

Kai froze for a second and got off the wall he had been leaning on. He listens eagerly for what Ventus says next.

Lux looks over to Kai as if hoping for his input and then turns back to the screen as some men approach Ventus and whispers something in his ear.

Before she could say anything, Ventus speaks again in somewhat of a hurry, "My meeting is about to start now, so I'll talk to you later, okay?"

With that, he hung up, leaving Lux staring with disappointment at the desktop displayed on the screen. Kai leaves the room silently as the rest take in the information that had just been disclosed in the call. Silence dominates the atmosphere of the room for a moment as everyone present has their eyes fixed on either the display monitor or on Lux. Lux who had been her normally curious and shy self only moments ago appear depressed now. She stands, staring still at the display as if waiting for Ventus to reappear on the screen so she could attempt to express something on her mind.

Seeing her the way she is, Ray approaches her and places a hand on her shoulder lightly. He calls out to her, "Hey."

Lux turns to him but does not say anything. The others in the room, including Tyson, Hilary, Kenny, Daichi and Max approach her too now.

"Is everything okay?" Max asks her.

She turns to him for a few moments but does not reply before turning from him and staring into the floor.

"Do you not want to move back to Sweden?" Ray asks her.

She initially remains as is but nods a few moments later, without looking up at anyone.

"Well if that's the case, then the next time we see Ventus, we can just all tell him you don't want to move." Tyson tells her.

She shakes her head in response to him.

"Huh?" Tyson is confused. "No?"

"Kai has been taking care of me…for a long time already." She tells them. "He has bought food for me to eat…and clothes for me to wear…and took care of me when I got hurt…so…I feel I shouldn't trouble him any longer…even though…I don't want to be far away from everyone either…"

"Well you do have family there…" Daichi reasons. "Ventus is the only family you got left, right?"

Lux does not reply but continues to stare at the floor.

"Lux," Ray addresses her. "Mind if I ask something?"

She turns to him.

"How do you feel about Ventus?" he asks.

"Feel…about Ventus?" Lux repeats. She is not really sure how to answer.

"Do you think of him as family?" he asks again.

"Think of him…as family…." She turns from Ray again.

"Hm..." Max thinks for a moment. He then asks the rest, "Now that I think about it, hasn't Lux been hanging out mostly with us or with Tala so far?"

They turn to him.

Kenny points out, "…And even after we met Ventus, she doesn't really see or interact with him all that often since he's always busy."

"…So even though she hangs out with friends all the time, she probably doesn't know the feeling of having a family member around." Hilary concludes.

Lux looks at her friends, somewhat confused.

"Lux, what comes to mind when you think of Ventus?" Tyson asks her.

Lux thinks for a moment and then replies, "A tall man who is familiar…and…polite."

"Is that all?" Daichi asks.

"Well do you feel he's in any way important to you?" Max asks.

"Important…" Lux repeats. "I don't know."

"Well…Would you be sad if you didn't see him anymore?" Tyson rephrases Max's question. "Do you care about him?"

"I…" Lux pauses and thinks back to the few interactions she's had with him. Sure, he has always seemed familiar to her, but she can't really say she cares much about him. In fact, due to their lack of time spent together, he feels little closer than a stranger or at best an acquaintance to her. Yet, from everything she has learned, even she knows what "family" means and how one should regard it.

Lux looks around at the faces gathered around her. Seeing everyone waiting for the answer to the question, she felt pressured and somewhat scared to say anything.

'Ventus…is 'family'…I am supposed to care about 'family'…so…Ventus is supposed to be someone…I care about…but…'

Looking around her some more, she sees everyone around her taking notice of her change of expression.

'…but I…I don't…'

Lux almost finishes her thought but chooses to stop. The fact is, she didn't care about the only living person in the world with close blood relations to her. She stares back to the floor. Now no longer wanting to answer the question at all both for fear of being told that she is a bad person and because she herself felt awful, she turns in a swift movement hoping to leave the room before anyone asks again.

"Forget it." Ray stops her by the shoulder with a smile before she could go anywhere. From his experience the other day in Rome, he had somewhat anticipated her attempt to run away when he noticed her growing discomfort and decided as a result that it'd be better to call off the entire question.

"Forget…?" she repeats.

"You don't have to answer the question if you don't want to." Ray tells her.

Lux turns back to face them properly.

"Look, even if you end up moving back to Sweden, it'll be okay." Tyson tells her.

"But…I won't get to see you guys…" she protests.

"Oh come on, it's not that bad." Max tells her. "My mom lives in the U.S. and I still get to see her. We just have to visit each other."

"Visit?" Lux repeats.

"Yeah," Hilary joins in to cheer her up. "You can come by to see us anytime."

"So don't worry so much about it." Ray tells her with a smile. "Okay?"

"Hm…" Lux still does not like the idea.

Seeing as she is still worried about it, Ray decides that for now, it would be best to try to distract her from it for now, "Hey Lux,"

Lux turns to him.

"Remember that dessert you had for lunch?"

"Dessert…" Lux remembers the white, pudding-like, dish with fruit and caramel on it that she had consumed. "Yes…Panna cotta."

"Right," Ray acknowledges with a smile. "How would you like to learn how to make it?"

Lux looks at him confused why he all of a sudden is offering to teach her to make food. The others look at him almost equally puzzled.

"I want to learn." Lux tells him anyway.

"Great!" Ray turns to Kenny. "Kenny, would you mind finding a recipe for us to follow?"

"Huh?" Kenny is very confused why Ray is all of a sudden changing the subject of the discussion. "Wh-"

Ray signals for him to trust him on it with a brief wink.

"Uh…sure. Just a sec." Kenny complies.

In a few moments, he pulls up a website with a video tutorial. He hands Dizzy to them, "Here."

Accepting the laptop, Ray signals for Lux to come closer to read the recipe with him and she joins him.

"Let's see…ingredients…" Ray mouths as he scrolls to the list. "Sugar, heavy cream, vanilla, and gelatin sheets…hm…"

"Do we even have all that here?" Tyson asks looking over his shoulder. The thought of food had effectively distracted him too although the others are still somewhat confused.

"Well the maids here make desserts often so I would imagine there is some." Kenny inputs.

Ray reads the recipe briefly, "First soften the gelatin sheets, then score and add the vanilla into the cream and add sugar…"

...

Upstairs, Kai slams the door to the room he is staying in shut. He stands behind the door with his bangs covering his eyes. For a while he stays this way.

"_Lux, when everything is over, I'll arrange for you to come home, okay?" _

"_Our house in Sweden…"_

"_I'll arrange for you to move back there."_

These words have echoed through Kai's mind the entire way up from the room downstairs. Finding himself very much perturbed by them, he sinks to the floor into a sitting position with one knee up and rests his arm on his knee.

He thinks back to the reason he took her in in the first place: his curiosity. He had wanted to know why he had been seeing her in his dreams for a whole month. So far, he still has no leads on that other than that at least some of what he dreamt of is real.

'Would I ever even find out why I had those dreams?' Kai questions in his mind, looking up a little.

Ever since he had met the girl, he has found her to be a sink for the emotional stress that the dreams have placed on him. The dreams have even begun to decrease in frequency until they have simply stopped altogether. Yet, as time had passed, this simple dependence on her that she herself was not even aware of had morphed.

He recalls the way she played in the fields when he had unintentionally led her to the spot he usually liked to lounge around at, her cheerful smile whenever she prepared food for the two of them, her delightful reaction to the first piece of cake she ever had and the times he had either taught or corrected her when she tried to learn something. He also recalls his promise to protect her that night when he had found her injured by her kidnapper, the day when they were both stranded during the storm and had to wait for help, and all of the times when he had to go look for her and how worried he had been for her each time.

Even if he had seen her as a mere form of comfort from those dreams, he had grown genuinely fond of her and he had been aware of this for a while now.

'The reason I had those dreams hardly even matters to me now…'

However, he knew from the start when he had taken her in that she wasn't meant to stay with him for too long. He had only intended to let her stick around until his curiosity was satisfied and even if not for that, it was clear to him even back then that she was likely not from Japan and likely would not be able to legally stay in the country for far too long anyway. Now, after all that's transpired, once things are done, it would simply be her time to go back to where she belongs.

'Things would just go back to the way they were before…wouldn't they?'

Kai thinks back to his life before he had met her and before he had even had those dreams of her. He had always more or less just hung out by himself until he met Tyson and the others. Even then, he still preferred to be away from people as he was rather introverted. Despite that this was true only three months ago, he cannot help but feel that it is a distant lifestyle to him now.

He then imagines what things will be like after she leaves. He would no longer have to take care of her and he can go back to being a loner without a clueless golden blonde tagging along behind him. It'd more or less be just like the way it was before. If ever he wanted to see her, he could always just go visit her in Sweden. Conveniently, there isn't even a need for a VISA for him to enter her native country. Yet, this simply does not satisfy him; he doesn't want to only see her a few times a year.

Unable to just let her go, he admits out loud in the silent room, "I don't want her to leave."

He stays silent for a while however as even he knows that this is not something that was simply up to him.

'But what can I even do about it?'

Technically, Lux is a citizen of Sweden. She doesn't really need a VISA to visit him in Japan either but she certainly isn't supposed to be there for long periods of time let alone permanently reside there without proper documentation. On top of that, she has a home in Sweden and a living relative who has dedicated years of his time doing everything in his power for her sake. Who was _he_ to fight with that person for the privilege to live with her?

'I'm neither family to her nor have I done anything for her that could compare…'

Then there was the question of what _she_ wants to do.

'Does she even _want_ to move back to Sweden?'

He recalls the way she had looked at him only a little earlier when she was conversing with Ventus. It was as if she was looking to him for help but at that moment, he did nothing to help her. He had selfishly walked away to cope with his own feelings over the matter before even hearing what she had to say about it all.

'What if she hadn't wanted it either?'

Kai rests his face on his knee and stays that way for a while.

...

A waxing crescent hangs in the evening sky. Some clouds drift slowly, glowing in a slightly muddy hue from reflecting the city lights below. A particularly well lit premise beneath this glows and compliments a tall hotel complex amidst Berlin's dark blue cityscape.

"Well, then," a man politely speaks. "I suppose this seals our deal, Mr. Alfhild."

With a final shake of hands, the man thanks Ventus and wishes him a lovely final evening in Berlin. Ventus returns with the appropriate formal gestures and watches as his client leaves the conference room. He then exits the room himself where his two bodyguards await him.

In concise words, he tells them, "Before departing to my next appointment, I'd like to use the restroom here."

The two of them comply and traverse with him down the second floor hallway where one of the guards briefly inspects the restroom for safety. Once determined safe, Ventus enters and leaves the two guards to wait outside.

The sound of running water soon becomes audible. Moments later, Ventus emerges expecting to be awaited again by his bodyguards but to his surprise finds neither of them at their expected post.

'That's strange…' Ventus mentally notes.

Ventus eyes up and down the empty hallway. Having hired from a trustworthy firm and done a background check on each of the bodyguards he had hired, he is certain that his bodyguards would not have both left him unattended; it would be far too unprofessional. Deducing that something is amiss, he steadily checks out his surroundings while attempting to figure out what is going on or who is after him.

...

A gentle night breeze sweeps through the premise of the Alflhild's villa. Some time has now passed since the call from Ventus and during this time, Wyvynn had dropped by for a visit. As he had come by around dinner time, the group thought it rude not to invite him to stay for dinner and so he stayed. With the exception of Kai who had not come down for dinner altogether and Lux who had gone off to the kitchen after she ate, most of the Bladebreakers have decided to hang out for a while on the terrace. Wyvynn, who had not left immediately after dinner was also invited along to hang out with them while Tala and his team had decided it best to go to bed early so they can wake up early the next morning for practice.

Carefully, Hilary cuts off two slices of the watermelon on the table and sets it on a plate. She hands them to the guys next to her, "Here you go,"

Without hesitation, Tyson and Daichi gobble it down and spit out the seeds messily. Having finished at the same time, they hand the plate back to Hilary and in unison demands from her, "More please!"

With a sigh, Hilary complies with their request.

Wyvynn, having been watching their competition since the start turns to Max and Ray near him and asks, "So how long do they usually go at this for?"

"Quite a long time, usually." Max replies watching them with a bored expression. Tyson and Daichi's watermelon eating contest has already gone on for a while and he had already gotten used to this ages ago anyway.

"If you want a slice, you can go up to Hilary and ask." Ray tells him in a friendly tone. He then jokes, "She'll probably be more than willing to give you a slice just to annoy Tyson and Daichi."

"Nah, I'm not interested in fruits." Wyvynn returns.

"That's not a very good thing health-wise," Kenny comments while still typing away on Dizzy.

"Fruits are a good source of vitamin C and A as well as fiber." Dizzy adds.

"Yeah well I eat plenty of other things to make up for it." Wyvynn dismisses her argument. Not that it was true, since he mostly just eats junk food but thought it best not to say anything about that part.

"If you say so!" Dizzy chimes.

The three of them watch a little longer while Kenny continues to work on his laptop.

"I wonder how Lux is doing." Max wonders out loud.

"Didn't she go off to the kitchen to check on the panna cotta or whatever it was she made?" Wyvynn asks, recalling from when she had left the dinner table.

"Well, she was a little upset earlier because Ventus called and told her he will have her move back to Sweden." Kenny informs him of the ordeal.

"Oh. Lemme guess, she's not willing to go back?" Wyvynn asks without taking his eyes off the watermelon contest going on in front of him.

"Well, no. She is willing." Kenny answers him, stopping his activities. "It's just that she doesn't wanna say her goodbyes to us."

"After the call, Kai shut himself in his room and hasn't come out once either." Max adds.

Wyvynn turns from the watermelon eaters now. "So that's why he wasn't there at dinner…"

"By the way, Ray," Max turns to Ray.

"Yeah?" Ray turns from Tyson and Daichi.

"Why did you all of a sudden decide to teach Lux how to make dessert back there?" Max asks curiously.

"I just thought it'd be best to take her mind off it for now." Ray answers. "But to be honest, it was probably not very effective."

"You think so?" Max turns back to the watermelon contest.

"You remember what happened when we arrived in Rome?" Ray asks him.

"Yeah." Max answers.

"She's very fond of Kai and very attached to him." Ray then tells him. "When Cornelia and Flavia started throwing themselves all over Kai, she was actually very upset. She just didn't say anything about it to anyone."

"She has always been shy…" Max notes.

"But it's understandable why she wouldn't want to go back to Sweden." Kenny then explains, "She remembers only a little less than ten months of her life and most of that was either memories of her time with us or with the cats she lived with before she met us. The closest person to her is in fact, probably Kai."

"Well then why not just have her stay with Kai?" Wyvynn asks. "I bet Kai's equally upset about this if he's locked himself in his room over it."

"It's not that simple." Kenny tells him. "Lux is legally allowed to stay in Japan for only three months without a VISA. She entered the country using a one year VISA but that expires in about a month or two."

"But she's from the Alfhild family." Wyvynn argues. "As long as Ventus agrees to it, I'm sure he has more than enough influence to arrange for her to stay there longer. Money's got a pretty big say in things in this world, as far as I know."

"Maybe so, but if you think from Ventus's point of view…" Kenny closes his laptop.

"Yeah, yeah, I get that she's all he's got left in the world." Wyvynn mutters. "I've only read all the files back at the lab…"

"Speaking of which," Kenny turns to him. "Do you mind if we ask you about that lab? And also about the Magnanimae."

"I don't see why not." Wyvynn then tells him, "Ask me anything you want. If I know it, I'll tell ya."

...

Having scouted as much of the second floor as he possibly could, Ventus discovers that there is not a single person in any of the rooms or hallways there. Moreover, the main central stairs leading to the first floor lobby and main entrance has been blocked off by some arrangement of heavy boxes that he could not remove. Knowing for sure now that someone has set this up, he decides to try to leave as quickly as possible. He considers calling the police for help but decides against it for now as they would probably do little for him if he is not in any clear danger nor is he even certain that he has been trapped on the second floor of the hotel.

He heads to the elevators and presses the downwards button for each one. A good while passes but none of the elevators arrive on his floor. He looks up and notices that for some strange reason, the elevators are all on the bottom most floor of the building and staying there.

'Crap…' he mentally curses.

Deducing that whoever is after him have likely tampered with the elevators, he dashes to the nearest emergency stairwell but finds it inaccessible due to the door being bolted shut from the other side. He then checks some of the other stairways in his wing to find the same. Now arriving at the end of the hall where the only remaining stairway he hasn't checked is located, he pushes the door carefully to find that this one alone had been left accessible.

He takes a careful peak around the stairwell. No one seems to be present and everything in this set of stairs seems to be perfectly normal. He descends them quickly but upon reaching the ground floor, he finds that the exits, both to the outside and to the hallway have all been locked or bolted shut from the other side.

'Whoever this is has done a superb job planning this out.' He comments in his mind as he turns around to climb back up in realization of the fact that he has no choice to.

As he climbs up the stairs, he checks each door on each floor he passes.

'…locked….locked…locked…locked…and locked...'

He was beginning to grow tired from having climbed up the past ten floors. As every door so far has been locked, he begins to suspect that there will not be an unlocked door until he reaches the roof. Continuing to climb up, he then notices a dark, semitransparent object with a violet luster on one of the steps. Backing up just a little and bending down to pick it up, he realizes what it is. Having figured out who had done this, he realizes now that calling the police would be out of the question. He quickly looks around and once certain that he is not in any way being observed, he takes out his phone and checks his signal. Upon confirming that it is sufficient, he sends a text message to Traumgeber before erasing his contact information, call history and message history from the device. Putting it away, he continues up the steps until he reaches the final floor and then the roof. Calmly, he opens the door to the rooftop.

"Greetings, Ventus," a familiar voice greets him as he steps into the open air.

"Well greetings to you as well," Ventus returns the greeting. "Lok,"

Ventus lets go of the door and it closes. The one winged being descends to a spot in front of him facing the other way.

"So what brings you here on such a fine evening?" Ventus begins with some small talk. "If you wanted to chat, you really only needed to have it arranged with my secretary. There's no need to beat up my bodyguards over it."

"Now what might you be refering about?" Lok returns with a deranged smile. "I never beat anyone up. I merely 'spoke' to them and asked them to give me some private time with you."

"…I see." Ventus realizes now how Lok had emptied the second floor of the hotel. "I take it you 'spoke' with the staff of the hotel as well to arrange the blockade on the second floor?"

"And the shutdown of the elevators and locking of the stairwells as well." Lok adds for him. "Are you impressed?"

"I suppose you want me to say I am." Ventus decides it is now time to get to the point, "So what business do you have with me?"

"What business?" Lok turns to face him. As he does, Ventus feels a pair of strong arms grab him from behind, effectively immobilizing him. He then proceeds to remove his contacts. "Well…"

...

In a small town, tranquil and dark at this hour, a light breeze picks up the ends of Traumgeber's purple drapes as it carries the sound of his low snoring further into the narrow alleyway in which he is sleeping. A repetitive vibration causes an equally repetitive rumble to sound from the ground. The snoring stops and Traumgeber shifts a little. He reaches a hand into his ragged clothing and pulls out a phone. Seeing a text message for him, he opens it reads it.

"…'and don't message back', he says." Traumgeber reads the message. He looks around him in the darkened environment. "Looks like I have work to do…"

He puts the device away and begins to steadily walk down the road.

...

Lux opens the refrigerator and peaks in. Bending down, she examines the cups of panna cotta in the fridge and she tries to remember what she had been told earlier about when they are ready.

"They have to look like they won't spill out…not like water…but like pudding…and…hm…what else…" she thinks for a moment.

As she searches her mind for the instructions from earlier, she finds her mind wandering. The call from earlier soon begins to dominate her mind again.

'I know I really should move back…' She recollects the call from earlier.

Thinking of all the things she had been told about the man called Ventus and her past life, she remembers the pictures she had been given before of her when she was young.

'I probably…really did love him when I was younger. He probably still loves me too…that's why…he is doing so much for me…'

She recalls the edelweiss hairpin he had showed her over the webcam.

'He is family…even if I don't remember…but…'

She thinks of Kai and the times she has spent with him.

'Moving back to Sweden…means…I won't get to see Kai….'

_"My mom lives in the U.S. and I still get to see her. We just have to visit each other."_

'Visit each other…but…'

"Hm…" Lux rests her chin on her knees as she remains lost in her thoughts of the matter.

'I really don't want to say goodbye to everyone…especially Kai…'

Lux then wonders what Kai thinks of all this. He had been in the room with her during the call but he hadn't said anything at the time. "Kai…"

"What about Kai?" a voice interrupts her.

Lux turns to see Wyvynn standing beside her near the open refrigerator. "Mr. Wyvynn?"

"Yo." He greets her. "And stop with the 'Mr.', really."

"You are still here." Lux notes the obvious.

"Well, yeah…it's kind of late so they just offered to let me stay the night over." Wyvynn explains.

"Oh" Lux did not seem to care much.

He then takes note of the things in the fridge. He asks, "Were those what you were making?"

Lux nods. "Panna cotta."

"I see." Wyvynn looks at them a little. He had to admit they didn't look bad. Tempted for one, he asks, "Mind if I try one?"

"Try…one…" Lux look back at them. She reaches in and tilts one slightly. Seeing it not spill out, she decides, "Okay…you can try one."

"By the way…" Wyvynn addresses her. "You might wanna close the refrigerator door. I notice you've been staring at them with the fridge open for a while."

Lux turns back to the fridge and realizes she had left the door open for quite a long time. "…Oops."

After closing the fridge, Lux finds a clean plate and sets it on the kitchen table. She gently and carefully empties the panna cotta from its mold onto the plate and pours some caramel over it. After decorating it with some strawberries, she gets a clean spoon for him and hands it to him.

"Here," she holds it out for him.

"Thanks," he accepts it and takes a bite. "Wow…this is good."

Lux watches without much of an expression as he consumes it.

"Thanks for the treat," Wyvynn thanks her again after finishing. Despite the compliment, she didn't quite look happy. Seeing this, he decides to ask her "What's wrong?"

Lux does not answer but simply stares into the floor.

Taking a guess at this, Wyvynn asks, "This about you moving back to Sweden?"

Lux looks up at him curious how he knew. "How did you know?"

"Uh…the others mentioned it after dinner." Wyvynn admits. "So?"

Lux bluntly admits, "I don't want to move."

"Well you know what, then don't move." Wyvynn tells her.

"But…I feel like I've been a burden to Kai…for a long time already…and Ventus would be unhappy…" Lux explains her reasons.

"You really think so?" Wyvynn walks closer to her. "Because I sure don't."

Lux looks up to meet his gaze.

"Oh yes, Kai shut himself in his room the whole night after he heard you will be moving out of his place because he was overjoyed. Why, he must be having a party in there!" He then asks her, "Does that sound about right to you?"

Lux is confused by his sarcasm.

"Look, just go with what makes you happiest." Wyvynn tells her. Her confused look already told him she didn't quite get the point of his previous statement. "And I'm sure Kai doesn't want you to move either. If you don't believe me, then just go talk to him but I'm a hundred percent certain."

With that, Wyvynn walks pass her to leave.

"Wait." Lux calls him back when he was at the entryway.

"Hm?" he turns back to her.

"Thank you." She tells him.

"No problem." He returns as he walks out.

Feeling a little better, Lux returns her attention to the dessert.

...

Dazzling sunlight, bright and warm, permeates the fresh, fragrant air. Everywhere around him are florid fields of whites, yellows, pinks, blues, and purples. Kai treads steadily through the flowerbeds as a zephyr gently caresses him and decorates the endless azure sky with a dance of the softest colored petals. He eventually spots a charming, white gazebo situated on a rock in the far distance by a lake. As if called towards it, he begins to walk to it. A soft humming grows steadily louder. He stops before a small collection of white roses around the rock. Looking into the gazebo, he notices a familiar, golden haired girl, standing inside in a white dress and staring out into the lake. Recognizing her and elated to see her, he quickly approaches her to join her.

As he takes a step towards her, however, the gazebo and everything around him vanishes and morphs into a nightmarish sight. The skies, previously bright and decorated with petals, are now hollow, dark and filled with columns of rising smoke. The lake that had been beyond the gazebo and the floral fields that were behind him have now become a field of flames that glows in a bright spectrum of yellows, oranges and reds. Turning back to where the gazebo had been, Kai finds Lux unconscious on the ground and with her is a familiar one-winged figure.

Kai watches as the one-winged platinum blonde, bends down to pick up the fallen girl on the ground. Wishing to stop him for fear he would harm her, Kai runs forward but as he is about to reach the two, someone lands before him, effectively barring him from the girl he wishes to save. As the new figure stands up, the one-winged figure begins to walk away from them with Lux in his arms. As Kai attempts to pursue him, he finds himself opposed by the second figure. Taking a closer look at the features of the second figure, Kai becomes shocked as he recognizes the light blond hair and familiar face.

"Ventus…?"

Kai wakes up to the sight of a waxing crescent in the sky outside his window. Looking around him, he sees everything had grown dark and realizes he had fallen asleep behind the door sometime during the late afternoon or evening.

'Have I been asleep this whole time?' he gets up to stretch his legs.

He then remembers the dream just now. The flower fields, the gazebo, Lux, Lok and the strangest part to him, Ventus.

'Why is it coming back now...? And why was Ventus in my dream?' Kai asks in his mind. In all his previous dreams, he had only seen Lok and Lux. His previous dreams were all largely the same with minor differences between them yet, for some reason, Ventus had appeared in this one.

'Could Ventus be an enemy?' Kai reevaluates the figures and their roles from his dream. At this point, he already knows that Lux, Lok and Ventus are real people. Lok and Lux's allegiances in the dream relative to him have also been fairly accurate compared to that of their real life counterparts. However, Ventus has done many things for Lux's sake. 'Is it possible that there is something Lok is doing that is good for Lux?'

Kai then notices his emotional state. Usually, after waking up from one of these dreams he would be in some form of emotional distress. Most often, he would be scared for an inexplicable reason for Lux's sake. This time, however, although he is still concerned for her, he is quite clear minded.

'Maybe this is different from those dreams and I dreamt of this just because of this afternoon…' Kai theorizes, as he remembers the call from earlier.

His thoughts are cut off as a voice and some sounds outside his room catch his attention.

"…Are you hungry?"

Some sounds of scratching or squeaking continue to be audible.

Recognizing the voice, Kai turns to his door. 'Lux…?'

"Here you go." The voice says again.

Kai opens his door to discover the girl sitting on the floor right in the middle of the hallway not too far from his door. There are two plates of dessert, one in her hand and one on the floor. While she holds an untouched plate in one hand, she seems to be feeding a small mouse with her other hand from the plate on the floor. At the sight of him, the small furry rodent scurries off and leaves the dessert unfinished.

"Mr. Mouse ran away…" Lux notes after it.

"Lux?" Kai could not help but be astounded by the fact that she was feeding a mouse outside his bedroom door.

Noticing him there, she gets off the floor and quickly approaches him, greeting him back happily in the process. "Kai!"

"Uh...Why were you feeding a mouse right outside my room...?" Kai asks her.

"He seemed hungry." She replies simply.

Kai looks at her strangely but then decides to tell her, "It'd probably be best if you don't feed them anymore."

"Why not?" Lux asks innocently.

"Mice are generally considered household pests." Kai explains to her.

"Household pests..." Lux repeats.

"Insects, Mice, Spiders...things you don't want in your house." Kai explains further.

"Mr. Mouse was cute." Lux protests.

"Even so." Kai insists.

Lux responds with a look of disappointment but submits to him anyway, "...Okay."

Kai then glances over to the clock in his room. He then turns back to Lux and asks, "So what are you doing here so late?"

Lux recalls the reason why she came here and holds the untouched plate out to him, "Here."

"For me?" Kai looks at it. He accepts it but asks, "Thanks, but what is it?"

"Panna cotta." Lux answers.

"You made this?" Kai asks.

She nods.

Kai tries a bite. Finding it quite good, he compliments her, "It's good."

Lux smiles shyly upon being praised but moments later the smile fades away. Kai takes notice but waits first if she has anything to tell him.

"Uhm…" Lux begins trying to say something.

Kai waits a small while but seeing as she has failed to continue, Kai urges her on a little, "Yeah?"

"Hm…" Lux seems to be having trouble with her words again or she is simply too shy to say them.

"Something you wanna tell me?" Kai asks her more directly.

Lux nods.

Taking a guess she is having trouble expressing whatever it is, he looks both ways in the hall. Finding no one there, he invites her into his room, "Why don't you come in. That way, you can take your time to tell me whatever it is."

Lux simply nods and follows him into the room.

Flipping the lights on and closing the door behind them, Kai tells her, "You can sit anywhere you like."

Lux nods slightly and makes her way to a nearby armchair where she takes a seat. Kai places the plate of dessert down on a nearby dresser and simply leans against the nearest wall.

"So?" Kai watches her as she pulls her legs up onto the seat. "What did you want to tell me?"

She takes a little while to find where she wants to start but eventually says, "About moving…"

"You mean what Ventus told you earlier, right?" Kai glances away from her and into the reflection of the room in the glass of the window. "Back to Sweden?"

She nods, "Yes…"

For a few moments, they stay silent.

"What about it?" he asks.

"…Am I…" She hesitates for a moment but then goes on, "Am I a burden to you?"

"Huh?" Kai shifts his gaze back to her.

"Have you ever thought…that I was a burden?" she repeats the question, looking away from him. "To live with…"

"Why are you asking this?" Kai asks.

"Because..." She shifts her gaze down to the carpet. "For a long time...you've taken care of me...and you had to buy all sorts of things for me that I needed…or wanted...so...I've been thinking for a while that …maybe…"

"Do you really think any of those things can mean more to me than you do?" Kai asks her not waiting for her to finish.

She looks up at him to see him getting off the wall and approaching her. "I…"

"You're a person." He tells her, stopping right in front of her. "To me, there's no such thing as an object or any amount of cash that can be worth more than a living person."

"...And especially not _you_." Without warning, he swoops down and pulls her into his arms. "…So don't ever think you're worth any less to me than that because I..."

He hesitates to finish his sentence. He had wanted to tell her how he felt for her but he knew that doing so right now will only complicate the situation of her moving back even more. Just as she was about to reciprocate his embrace, he pulls away from her and stands up. Her arms fall back to her side and he turns from her to hide his face from her.

Curious what he was going to say to her before, she urges him to finish his sentence, "Because?"

"Nevermind." Kai tells her without turning to her.

She watches as he begins to walk away from her.

"So is that all?" he asks, stopping after making it a little ways from her.

She continues to stare after him and does not say anything for a while.

"Well if there's nothing else, I'm going to go get some water." He tells her, beginning to leave.

"I don't…"

He stops to hear what else she has to say.

"…I don't want to move back to Sweden."

He does not answer her immediately but continues to stand still. In his mind, he wonders if he should tell her how he feels about the situation. It would be true that he does not want her to move back to Sweden either. However there was the question of how strongly Ventus feels about having her move back.

"Is it…selfish…to want that?" She asks.

Unable to come to a conclusion, he tells her, "I don't know if it's selfish or not."

"Hm…" Lux rests her chin on her knee and remains silent.

"When Ventus comes back tomorrow, we'll both go talk to him." He tells her. "Okay?"

"Okay." Lux answers him as he leaves the room.

...

About fifteen minutes later, Kai returns to his room. The kitchen had been empty as it was almost two o'clock in the morning. Although not conclusive, he had taken the time to think of what he would say to Ventus the next day while there. For now however, he was certain of at least one thing: neither himself nor Lux are fond of the idea of her moving back to Sweden. He did wonder if the fact that Lux does not want to return to Sweden permanently would be enough for Ventus to change his mind. He has heard while he was there that Swedes are rather open-minded people, but he knows full well that it does not hold true for every individual from there.

Kai opens the door to his room. The room seems quiet and nothing seems to have changed. Lux is still in the armchair she had been sitting in before he had left for water. However, it would appear she has fallen asleep during the time he had been gone. He stands in the doorway for a second. Checking the time, he wonders if he should wake her up.

'I could wake her and send her off to her room but it's already really late…' He then weighs the other option. 'If I don't wake her, I have the choice of either carrying her to her room upstairs or I could let her stay here for the night and just carry her over to the bed…'

Kai closes the door behind him gently as he begins to make his way to her. He thinks about it a little more as he does, 'She's probably very tired by now since she's rarely ever stayed up past ten. I should probably not wake her.'

'But… if I were to carry her up to her room, I'd run the risk having to explain this to anyone who might happen to be in the hallway.' Although he has nothing to hide, he didn't exactly have a penchant for awkwardness. He then imagines the way up. Carrying her up a flight of stairs at two in the morning didn't exactly have any appeal to him either.

He glances over to his bed. Seeing as it is certainly large enough for an extra person, he decides he might as well let her stay for the night and just share half of his bed with her.

'I suppose this is the easiest option if I don't wanna wake her...'

He carries her gently to the bed and then tucks her in. Brushing some stray strands from her face, he whispers to her, "Goodnight, Lux."

He then closes the lights and walks over to the other side of the bed and climbs in himself.


	41. A Single Kiss

**Okay, sorry this took forever but I had a neverending chain of homework and exams and will be having more (I'm very sorry). Thank you to Brillerai and RobynIvy for the feedback. I'll try to update within a month for sure but this is my toughest semester, so bare with me.**

**Here is Chapter 41, enjoy and as usual, feedback is very welcomed!**

* * *

**CHAPTER FORTY-ONE**

**~ A Single Kiss ~**

* * *

The rosy glow of early morning is slowly filtered through the large windows into a well-kept bedroom. Feeling the change in intensity of the light incident upon him, Kai slowly blinks open his eyes. Adjusting to the light, he immediately notices the sleeping features of the girl lying across the bed from him.

Recalling the events of the night before, he notes to himself, 'That's right…she fell asleep here in my room….'

He then raises his head slightly and glances over to the clock to see that it is only slightly past six in the morning. Looking back to Lux, he remembers the time she had fallen asleep. 'She's only slept for about four hours…'

Laying back down and staring at the brightening ceiling, he wonders what he should do next. He could go back to sleep but he neither feels tired nor does he lack rest since he had slept a good deal prior to waking up to the dream last night. On the other hand, he could get up, but what was he to do so early in the morning? He's already done his fair share of training when he was alone despite the laid back attitudes of his friends. Aside from that, there is something else of concern to him anyway. He turns again to Lux as the video call from the day before comes back to his mind.

_"Lux, when everything is over, I'll arrange for you to come home, okay?"_

_"…I don't want to move back to Sweden."_

_"When Ventus comes back tomorrow, we'll both go talk to him."_

Despite their concurring opinions on the matter, the decision, more or less, is ultimately in Ventus's hands.

'Chances are, I might not get to spend time with her often after everything is over...' Kai thinks to himself.

Watching her as she sleeps on silently, Kai brushes some stray strands that fell over her face. He decides he might as well stay with her a little while longer like this.

...

Downstairs in a steadily brightening dining room containing a long table, Tala, Bryan, Spencer and Ian consume their first meal of the day quietly as a yawning Tyson and his friends, Max, Ray, Daichi, Hilary, Kenny and their guest, Wyvynn join them. As the incoming group takes their seats at the table, Tala and his team finish up their meal.

Getting up to leave for more training, Tala mouths to the others as a greeting, "We're off."

Tyson yawns as he watches them go. He then comments, "Wow, those guys sure got up early…"

"Oh, they've been much more diligent than you think they've been during the past week." Kenny tells him after swallowing his spoonful of cereal. "Unlike you they've been training every day and even during that trip we took to Venice."

"Come on Kenny, Ventus did say that we can have some fun while we're here." Tyson says, trying to justify his relative laziness.

"He also said that we need to be ready for that Lok guy," Hilary adds to fuel his irritation. "_and_ that we need to be up early for the next few days until he shows up."

"Well I _am_ up early today!" Tyson retorts. "Besides, I didn't sleep in _that_ late the last few days; I only slept until nine or ten!"

"…You mean ten or eleven." Daichi corrects him.

"You're even the last one up most of the time." Hilary sneers.

"Oh come on, who cares when I woke up the last few days. It's not even seven right now and I'm up!" Tyson argues back to Daichi. He then turns to Hilary, "And I'm not the last one up today, Kai and Lux are still not here yet."

"How do you know Kai didn't get up way earlier before and you just didn't see him?" Hilary asks.

"Actually, Lux could have gotten up earlier too. I've seen her wandering around outside during early morning hours a few times both here and back in Sweden." Kenny adds.

"Not this morning," Wyvynn cuts in.

Hilary turns to him.

"How do you know that?" she asks. She then notices something not to her liking. "And can you get your feet off the table? It's kind of rude..."

Wyvynn removes his feet from the table, albeit slightly annoyed by the request. He then answers her question, "She was still up hangin' around the kitchen past midnight. I'm assuming she doesn't have a penchant for depriving herself of sleep to go take a walk."

"I see…" Hilary acknowledges the information.

"Well anyway today's the last day we get free so how about we go on a little boat trip?" Tyson suggests.

"I'm in!" Daichi volunteers.

"I suppose I'm in too..." Kenny joins in, as he doesn't have much else to do.

"Yeah...why not..." Hilary joins them, somewhat halfheartedly.

"I'll come too if you guys want me around." Wyvynn also has nothing else to do for the day.

"Max? Ray?" Tyson turns to the two of them. "You guys coming?"

"I don't know...I kind of want to spend today training...we've had our share of fun the past week already..." Max answers.

"I agree," Ray supports him. "I feel like I haven't practiced in a while."

"Well…okay," Tyson tells them. "Then I'll go ask Kai and Lux."

"Wait, Tyson." Ray addresses him, in a more serious tone. "I think you should leave them alone today."

Tyson turns back to him, "Why do you say that, Ray?"

"They both seemed pretty upset after that call yesterday." Ray begins to explain. "If Lux is really moving back to Sweden, I think maybe we should give those two some time by themselves."

"Yeah…" Max agrees.

"Well, it can't hurt to ask." Tyson reasons. "Besides, what if they want to come along?"

"Actually, knowing Kai, he'd probably say 'no' right away." Max says.

"That's usually true," Kenny acknowledges. He goes on, "But lately I've noticed that whenever Lux goes along with something, Kai tends to go along with it too. So if you can get Lux to agree to come, you can probably get Kai to come along also."

"Well then, I'm off to go ask Lux!" an enthusiastic Tyson runs off.

"Huh?" Hilary watches as Tyson runs off. She calls to him as he runs down the hall, "Wait Tyson! Lux is probably still asleep! Don't just go waking people up from their sleep to ask them if they want to go on a boat trip!"

"We need to wake up early tomorrow, right? Then if she wakes up earlier, she'll get tired sooner and go to sleep earlier." Tyson yells back as he dashes down the hall. "She'll thank me later!"

"Oh, why did I even bother..." Hilary sighs, turning back to her bowl of cereal.

...

Reaching the second floor of the villa, Tyson takes a turn from the stairs and dashes down a short hallway to the room at the end of the hall. He stops before the door and cheerfully knocks lightly. Since no answer came, he knocks again louder.

"Hey Lux!" He calls through the door. "We're going on a boat trip today, wanna come with us?"

He waits for a response.

No response came.

"Lux?" Tyson calls again through the door. After again, receiving no answer, he mouths to himself, "I wonder if she's a heavy sleeper…"

"LUX!" Tyson calls through the door once more. As if instinctual from being bored of waiting, his hand reaches for the doorknob and twists it to find it unlocked. "Hm…"

Opening the door slightly, he takes a peek inside to see no one in the room.

"Lux?" he calls lightly into the room before stepping in just past the doorway. Looking around he finds that not only is there no one inside, the bed is also already made.

"So she _is_ up after all…" he mutters to himself as he turns to leave.

He returns down the hall and takes the stairs again back to the first floor to rejoin the others. Passing by Kai's room on the way, he wonders out loud, "Maybe I can ask Kai. I can probably get Lux to come along so it can't hurt to tell him that she's already agreed to come with us…"

Tyson approaches Kai's door and knocks. "Hey Kai, are you in there?"

Inside the room, Kai hears the sound and opens his eyes again. As he turns in the direction of his door, he wonders, 'What does Tyson want so early in the morning…?'

"Kai?" Tyson calls through the door from outside while knocking loudly.

Lux stirs a little in her sleep. Irritated by the noise and worried that it will wake Lux, Kai grumpily sits up to get off the bed to get the door.

"KAAII!" hearing no response from Kai, Tyson places a hand on the doorknob again to find that Kai's door, too, is unlocked. "Hm, I wonder if he's also not in his room…"

As Kai makes his way to his door, Tyson pushes the door open and sees him.

"Hey Kai, wanna come with us on a boat…" Tyson trails off as he notices the other person in the room sleepily sitting up on _Kai's_ bed.

Misunderstanding what he just walked into, Tyson freezes and awkwardly stands at the door for a second as inappropriate images begin filling his mind.

"Oh, hey…uhm…sorry about that…I hope I didn't interrupt something…I knocked and well…uh…" Tyson tries to apologize as a fuming Kai steadily approaches him. With every step towards him that Kai takes, Tyson takes a small step backwards into the hallway. "…uhm…there was no response, so…"

Upon reaching the doorway, Kai places one hand on the inner doorknob of his door.

"Yes, you did knock, Tyson…" Kai admits as he stares at Tyson with an expression of aggravation. He then tells him, "But then you're supposed to _wait until I get the door_."

Without warning, Kai slams the door as loud as possible, shut in Tyson's face.

Tyson stares at Kai's door for a while.

"Whoops…" Tyson mouths to himself. He then turns to go back to the dining room. "Maybe I shouldn't ask them after all…"

...

Back inside Kai's room, Lux rubs her eyes and greets him, "Good morning…"

Kai does not say anything back but simply walks back to the bed where he stands at the edge.

"What…happened?" Lux asks, suppressing a yawn.

"Nothing." Kai tells her, still irritated by the event that just occurred. He then glances at the clock. Seeing as it is only seven, he asks her, "Are you tired? I don't mind if you want to stay and sleep longer."

Lux looks around the room and then at the brightening window. She then mutters, "It's morning…"

She gets off the bed and walks around it towards the door and then mutters in a barely audible and sleepy voice, "I'm sorry…that I fell asleep last night…"

Noticing her disoriented appearance from having just woken up, Kai stops her by the arm, "Wait!"

Lux turns back to him.

"Are you…sure you don't want to go back to sleep?" Kai asks, eyeing her somnolent form up and down.

She nods sleepily.

"Well, before you go anywhere, why don't you go in the bathroom and fix yourself up?" he offers to her to try to stop her from walking outside of the room. He didn't want her to walk out looking like this and knowing Tyson, he wasn't about give anyone a chance to approach her for questions in case anything slipped out of Tyson's mouth.

Lux looks in the direction of the bathroom and then down at her clothes. "I need…shower…and…brush…teeth…"

"…I'll get your toothbrush and some clothes for you." Kai tells her. He then adds, "Your towel too. Okay?"

Lux looks at him for a moment and then nods in compliance before blankly turning in the direction of his bathroom.

...

Downstairs, Tyson returns silently to the dining room where the others are still eating. Curious how it turned out, Daichi asks, "So how'd it go?"

Tyson freezes up, not really wanting to say what he saw. "It…uh…I think I won't ask them after all…"

Hilary blinks while staring at him. "Did something happen?"

"No!" Tyson answers abruptly. "Nothing happened! It's just...Ray's right, we should give them time today!"

Max and Ray look at each other briefly.

"O…kay…" Hilary and Kenny look at each other as Tyson begins gobbling down food.

...

Some fifteen minutes later, Kai returns to his room with Lux's toothbrush, towel and some clothing. He had taken a while to get her things since he didn't know where she kept them in her room. By now, from the sound of running water clearly audible from the bathroom, he can tell the girl must have entered the shower. Knocking on his bathroom door, he asks her, "I got your toothbrush and your clothes for you. Can I put them down somewhere? I won't look."

"Okay." Lux replies from the inside, sounding much more awake.

Kai closes his eyes and enters, placing the items on a shelf by the bathroom door. He then turns to go. Before he leaves, he asks her while facing away from her, "By the way, do you...want to go to Rome today? To go sightseeing."

"Rome...the city where we were at...when Enrique brought us to a restaurant...?" Lux asks from behind the glass shower door.

"Yeah..." Kai answers. "That one."

"Sight...seeing?" Lux repeats the word.

"To look around the city and see the nice things there...like we did in Gamla Stan." Kai tells her. He then adds, "You didn't really get a chance to see much there that day."

"Will you be going there?" Lux asks.

"If you want to go, I'll take you there." Kai tells her.

She then asks, "If I go...it will be just us?"

"...Yeah." Kai replies. "Is that...okay?"

"Okay." Lux happily agrees to go with a smile and a nod.

...

Elsewhere, at a large stretch of empty land and long runways mostly occupied by armored aircrafts and uniformed personnel, a middle aged officer watches as what he believes to be a large bird hovering over the runways fly in a large circle noticeably in the sky. Beside him stands a younger, subordinate officer. Both of them appear to be on break from duty and having coffee.

"That's one huge bird…" the superior officer comments, trying to determine the exact size of the "bird" in the sky.

His subordinate looks up at the "bird" and says, "Sir, I'm not so sure that's a bird…"

"Well it doesn't look like an aircraft…" the other officer notes. "By the way, didn't I tell you not to call me 'sir' when we're on break? Just call me Gino, there's really no need for all the formalities right now."

"Oh, yes sir! I mean,…Gino." The subordinate returns.

They watch the "bird" a little longer.

"Uhm…Sir…I mean, Gino…isn't that thing flying lower and lower?" the subordinate asks.

"You're right…" the officer called Gino observes as he watches the creature descend slowly from the sky in a spiral.

However, soon, the descent accelerates and before they know it, a strange, one winged humanoid creature lands before them.

"Hello, gentlemen," the creature greets them as he stands up straight. "My name is Lok."

The two officers stare in awe as they take in the strange features of the creature before them: from his scaly black wing to his livid skin to his iridescently glowing eyes and his unusually tall height.

Snapping out of his amazement and believing the guy to be simply dressed up for some event, the older man steps up to him and says, "Sir, this area is off limits to civilians. We ask you to please leave or else we will remove you by force."

Lok smiles devilishly at those words. "No worries, I'm not here to cause any harm."

The two officers watch as the iridescent glow in his eyes begins to dance and increase in intensity.

"I ask you again, leave now or we will remove you by force." The older man repeats his request.

"You will not be removing me." Lok states, a wide grin with malice on his face. His wing begins to glow softly. "Instead, I want you to bring me to the nearest aircraft capable of transporting five or more people and teach me to pilot it."

Although at first seemingly resistant, the superior officer soon submits to him, much to the surprise of the subordinate. "Yes, my King,"

"Huh?" the subordinate reacts, surprised. "Sir! I mean, Gino! I mean, Sir! What are you saying?"

"Silence, my boy, we are to do as he asks." The man tells him in a laid back manner.

"But sir, he's a civilian!" the younger officer protests, believing something to be very wrong – or to the very least, strange – in regards to the actions of his superior. "You were just telling him yourself just a moment ago that he is to leave!"

"That was my mistake." The man states calmly, beginning to lead Lok towards a nearby hangar. "This man is our King! We are to serve him!"

"Sir, what in the world has come over you?" the other officer asks while trying to partially block the other officer's path.

"You heard me, he is our King and we must do everything in our power to serve him!" The older officer pushes the younger one out of his way.

Lok turns to the younger man. "You should help your superior, should you not?"

"What did you do to…" he trails off as his expression switches to a much more subservient one. "I mean, yes, my King. I shall aid my superior in instructing you to pilot today."

...

Emerging from the metro, Kai and Lux turn to the large, ancient structure basking in the midday sun a little ways ahead. Although the two of them had left for their trip fairly early in the morning, their trip, mainly consisting of a long train ride from a station in Orbetello to Rome's central terminal totaled almost three hours. Glad to have finally made it to their destination, Kai takes Lux's hand to begin to lead her to the large structure surrounded by crowds of tourist groups and tour guides.

"Stay close to me so you don't get separated." Kai tells her. "Okay?"

Lux nods as she follows him towards the large structure.

"What is this place…called?" Lux asks as she looks around curiously at all of the people present. This is the first time she had seen such a huge crowd of tourists in one place. "Is this place…special?"

"You can kind of call it special." Kai answers her. "This amphitheater is very old and well-known around the world. It's called the Colosseum."

"Colosseum…amphitheater." Lux repeats looking around some more at the gigantic structure. "It looks strange."

"Strange?" Kai asks, not sure what she means. "How so?"

Lux points at a missing part of the outer wall visible from where they are standing. "That. Why is it like that?"

Kai looks at it for a bit. Being no expert on the history of the building he has no idea how to answer her other than stating the obvious that it was damaged at some point. Looking around he spots a tour guide explaining the history of the structure. "Let's go over there. That guy is explaining the history behind this place so he can probably answer your question better than I can."

"…the Colosseum was constructed during the Flavian Dynasty and originally named the Flavian Amphitheater, or in Latin, Amphitheatrum Flavium. It was built in 72 AD by the emperors Vespasian and Titus." the tour guide explains to his group. "Originally, it was designed to seat 50,000 spectators and was mainly used for entertainment purposes by the ancient Romans. You've probably all heard of the gladiator fights they had here, but besides just those, they also used this place for mock sea battles, animal hunts, dramas and generally public spectacles. This is probably one of the most iconic symbols of Imperial Rome, but as you can see from here, the structure has suffered quite some damage over time. It's said that in 217 AD, lightning hit and destroyed the wooden upper levels inside. This place was again damaged from an earthquake in 443 AD. In the 14th century, an earthquake caused a part of the outer wall to collapse as you can see over there…"

Lux turns to the Colosseum itself. "I feel bad…for this building."

"The building doesn't have feelings, so don't worry about it." Kai tells her.

She reacts with a look of disappointment. Believing his last comment must have somehow upset her, Kai adds, "But it…does have quite some history to it."

Lux stares again at the large structure before them.

Kai then suggests, "How about we go inside?"

Lux nods.

...

Back at the villa, Ray and Max watch from the door to the front entrance as Tyson, Hilary, Kenny, Daichi and Wyvynn depart by car to the harbor in Porto Ercole for their boat trip. Having ended up goofing off all morning, they have actually yet to start the training they intended to do.

"Well, there's goes that." Max says, as their friends' car disappears from view. "It sure would have been fun if we joined."

"Yeah, but we've already goofed off all week." Ray says. He then jokes a little, "Besides, with all the training Tala and the others got, even Tyson might lose this year's tournament to them."

"Haha, sure, but I doubt we'd let that happen." Max says, sitting down. "There's still some time to go since Mr. Dickinson is still trying to set up everything so we should be able to catch up."

"I wonder what this year's format will be like." Ray wonders out loud.

"Hm…I don't know." Max takes out his green Draciel blade. "But however it's formatted I'm sure it'd be fun just like all the other times we participated."

"Yeah…" Ray agrees. He then turns to the door behind him. "Let's go have a practice match by the pool right now."

"Okay." Max gets up to go with him.

Before they enter the villa again, a car driving towards the villa from the distance becomes visible. Noticing it, Ray turns to the vehicle. "Is that Ventus?"

Max turns too. "Could be. He did say he's coming back today. Or, maybe Tyson just forgot something."

The car soon arrives at the front of the villa and parks. Just as Ray had guessed, Ventus emerges from the car, still in his business attire and wearing a pair of sunglasses. Seeing the two of them, he greets them, "Hello there."

"Hi," Max returns the greeting as Ventus proceeds to the entrance where the two of them are standing. "How did your business trip go?"

"It went well." Ventus replies to the small talk. He then asks, "Where is Lux?"

Max looks to Ray.

"I saw her leave with Kai earlier. They probably went somewhere together." Ray tells him. "Why do you ask?"

"I was just curious. If she's not here right now, it's alright." He tells them, going pass them inside.

As he passes them, Ray notices something different about Ventus's eyes behind the darkened lens. He had thought that Ventus's eyes were blue but visible only from the side where his sunglasses fail to hide his irises, is an iridescent glow similar to that of Lux's and Kull's eyes.

"By the way, Ventus…" Ray begins. "Do you really intend to have Lux move back to Sweden?"

"Hm?" Ventus turns back to them. "Had she said anything against it?"

"It's just…I don't think she wants to go back." Ray tells him bluntly. "She's not refusing, but she doesn't seem to want to go."

"I see," Ventus responds calmly, almost as if without care. He then disappears into the villa.

Ray stares after him a little.

"Ray, is something wrong?" Max asks.

"I'm not sure…I thought I saw a glow in his eyes…" Ray tells him.

"Like the one Lux has?" Max asks.

"Yeah…he never said anything about being a Magnanima, did he?" Ray mouths.

Unknown to either of them, Ventus stands not too far from them inside, having overheard them.

...

People circulate like flowing water in a stream down a busy commercial district in the midst of central Rome as a certain rich blonde tries but in vain to persuade a duo of girls to stay with him.

"Come on, girls, don't go," he tells them as they walk away from him. "I didn't mean to miss my date with you the other day, really!"

"Which one of us are you even talking to?" the brunette asks. "Not only did you forget you had a date with me, you were meeting someone else as well."

"I…well…I didn't forget, I was just with some friends." Enrique tries to explain himself.

"In other words, we're even less important than some 'friends'" the blonde summarizes.

"Well, they're not exactly from around here so I don't get to see them often." Enrique says.

"Yeah, sure, oh forget it. I'm not into guys who date other girls behind my back." The blonde says as she begins walking away.

"Me neither. Let's go, Milena." The brunette joins her.

"Oh…" Enrique groans as they leave.

"I see you're up to your usual." A familiar voice greets him.

Enrique looks up to see a familiar green haired French around his age. "Oliver!"

"Hey." Oliver greets him back. "How've you been? Long time no see."

"Yeah, I haven't seen you in quite a while." Enrique agrees. "What have you been up to?"

"Not much." Oliver replies. "I am beginning to practice again for the upcoming tournament though."

Realizing he had forgotten about it, Enrique grumbles, "Oh, right, I should start doing that soon…"

"You mean you haven't started?" Oliver asks, surprised.

"Eh…well…the last few days I ran into Tyson and the others." Enrique explains.

"Tyson?" Oliver is surprised. He then asks, "How are they doing?"

"Oh, they're doing fine." Enrique tells him, "They're…"

"Speak of the devil, there's Kai!" Oliver points behind Enrique.

"Huh?" Enrique turns to see Kai and Lux walking by some shops together on the other side of the plaza.

"HEY, KAI!" Oliver yells to them. "KAI-"

"Shh!" Enrique shushes him, pulling him behind a car to keep them out of view.

Kai looks around from the other side, his eyes searching for someone who might know him. Noticing him stop, Lux stops and looks around also. Seeing nothing unusual, she turns to Kai, "Is something…wrong?"

Kai turns back to her. "It's nothing. I just thought I heard my name."

Lux nods and continues walking with him.

"What are you doing?" Oliver asks Enrique from behind the car.

"Don't interrupt them." Enrique tells him.

"Huh?" Oliver raises an eyebrow. "Interrupt _them_? What do you mean?"

"Look." Enrique points out to him. "I think they're on a date."

Taking a better look, Oliver notices that Kai seems to be looking at some stuff in the shops with a girl with golden blond hair around their age.

"Who's that with him?" Oliver asks, assuming Enrique knows from the way he had acted.

"Her name's Lux. She's from the Alfhild family. I think she's his girlfriend." Enrique tells him. "About a week ago when some of the girls I know started hitting on him, she got all upset about it."

"As in the Alfhild group? That's the group my dad's been making a lot of deals with lately." Oliver then muses, "And wow, who'd have thought Kai would find a proper girlfriend before you do."

"Hey I've had girlfriends before!" Enrique protests.

"That never stayed with you for long?" Oliver teases.

This causes Enrique to start going on the defensive, "I wouldn't wanna date a girl like her anyway; she's not my type. I mean, from what I've seen, she seems sweet and all, but she doesn't have a lot of common sense…"

"Shhh!" Oliver hushes him.

"Hm? What is it?" Enrique asks.

"Those guys over there. Who are they?" Oliver points out two men in black suits. One of them seem to be observing Kai and Lux while the other is glancing around the area they are at. "They started looking in this direction a little while ago when I called out. I think they're looking for us."

"Huh?" Enrique peeks out and sees them too now. He had not really noticed that Kai and Lux were being followed, but more importantly, he didn't notice that the guys had been looking around for them until now. Luckily since they ducked behind a car immediately after, the two goons don't seem to know they are the ones who called out.

They watch as the men surveyed their side of the street some more. As Kai and Lux moves on further down the street, the two suited men follow too, giving up on the two of them.

"Maybe they are her bodyguards?" Oliver asks.

"Hm…Maybe." Enrique says as he watches them go. "I sure don't remember her having any during that trip to Venice though…"

"Well, for now, let's leave them alone." Oliver says. "I can always go see them later if they're busy now. How about we have our chat at a café? It's on me."

...

Taking a right, Kai and Lux begin walking down a crowded street filled with boutiques and brand name shops. A street sign above a shop at the corner of the block reads "Via Dei Condotti". Large glass windows line both sides of the road, each featuring beautifully designed items highlighted by perfectly angled lights. Kai watches patiently as Lux marvels at some of the things on display behind the glass of a nearby shop.

"It's pretty!" Lux exclaims as she stares happily at a dress behind the glass window of one of the shops.

Kai takes a look as well. The dress had indeed been very well designed. He then notices something else. The dress in fact would probably look pretty good on Lux. He asks her, "Do you want to try it on?"

Lux turns to him, somewhat startled by the question. She nods slowly.

Kai smiles and leads her inside the shop as a large group of people pass them.

Behind them some ways away, the suited men shuffle their way through the crowd and look around. Finding Kai and Lux nowhere in sight, one of the suited men reports into a microphone attached to an earpiece, "We've lost sight of the target somewhere on Via Dei Condotti."

"There goes my promotion…" the other one mutters, frustrated.

Inside the shop, a salesclerk leads Lux inside the fitting rooms at the back of the store while Kai finds a spot nearby to wait. "This way please, Miss."

A little while passes and Kai grows a little impatient. Soon, Lux emerges, dressed in a crisscross halter top dress colored mostly blue and white. Her silver heeled sandals and the iridescent bracelets on her wrist serve to further compliment her main attire. However, due to the design of the dress, Lux had to take off the red ribbon and bell she usually wears and is holding it in her hand. Still, Kai was impressed by her appearance. The abdomen of the dress hugged her slender frame perfectly yet the flare of the dress added an emphasis to her already beautiful figure.

Noticing him staring, Lux blushes and asks, "Do I look bad?"

Snapping out of his trance, Kai immediately replies to her, "No, not at all."

Lux relaxes and admires the dress some more.

"O-On the contrary, you look beautiful in it." He compliments her, turning away and blushing himself now. This was the first time he had ever complimented a girl in this way.

Happy to hear that, Lux smiles and says to him, "Thank you."

Not knowing what to say next, Kai decides to ask, "Would you like to have that dress?"

To that, Lux reacts with a little disappointment. "I forgot…to bring money."

Not really surprised by this, Kai tells her, "It's okay, I'll pay for it."

"No!" Lux tells him as he begins approaching the salesclerk with his credit card. "I'm happy…just being able to try it on…so…"

Kai ignores the protest and pays for it anyway. "Just think of it as _me_ wanting you to have that, okay?"

Hesitantly, yet gratefully, Lux nods.

The two suited men enter a nearby jewelry store to search for their target whom they've lost on the street. As they do, Kai and Lux emerge from the adjacent shop and continue down the road in the direction of a sunlit plaza up ahead. Passing by the many shops lined up, Kai notices a beautiful hairpin on display in one of the jewelry stores. He notes the similarity between the hairpin and the one that Lux had been looking at the other day when they were on their way to a restaurant with Enrique. Thinking of getting it for Lux, he glances back but realizes he's already quite far past the shop and decides not to bother to go back.

Meanwhile, after searching through several shops and still seeing no sign of either Lux or Kai, the two men stand in the busy street at a loss.

"I guess we should call it quits." One of them suggests.

"No way, they can't be far." The other one retorts. "If we lose them then it'll be ages until I get another chance to be promoted!"

"Well by the time we manage to check this place thoroughly they would have gone far away from here." The other one reasons. "There's no point, so just leave it to the other team to capture her along with the other ones. You'll get your chance for promotion next time."

Grumbling, the other one agrees and the two of them turn to leave the way they came.

...

Reaching the plaza at the end of the street, Lux spots a large fountain up ahead before a long, wide set of steps. As if gravitated towards it, she starts moving to the fountain.

"They call this place the Spanish Steps." Kai tells her as he follows her to it.

"Spanish Steps?" Lux looks up at the flight of stairs. She points to the steps ahead, "Because of that…?"

"I suppose so," Kai answers her as she takes a seat on a bench by the fountain. He then asks, "Are you tired? From walking."

Lux nods.

The two of them had mostly just walked since they got off the metro at the Colosseum. So far, other than the Flavian Amphitheatre, they've been to the Pantheon, the Trevi Fountain, a museum and a few shops. Lux, who had been wearing medium height heels, was bound to get tired easily.

"Are you thirsty?" Kai asks her.

Lux nods again.

Remembering passing by a café back on Via Dei Condotti, Kai offers, "How about you wait here and I'll go get something for you to drink? It shouldn't take long."

"Okay." Lux replies.

She watches as Kai dashes back down the street they were just on.

"It must be nice to be young," a voice beside the girl comments.

Lux turns to her left to see an aged woman sitting beside her. She greets the woman as she had been taught to when she meeting someone, "Hello."

"Hello, young lady." The pleasant old woman returns. "That's a very pretty dress you're wearing."

Lux looks down at her attire; she is still wearing the blue and white dress Kai had bought for her.

"Was that your boyfriend just now?" the old woman asks. "I remember when I was younger I came here a lot with my husband too."

"Boyfriend…?" Lux repeats the word.

"Oh, nevermind me if I'm wrong." The old lady tells her. "But I just thought you two looked so happy together that I couldn't help but think you two were lovers!"

"Lovers…" Lux repeats.

"Although, a little advice to you: if you do like the boy, you should tell him while you're young if you haven't already." She goes on. "Believe me, even if it turns out that he doesn't return your feelings, at least you can move on. My husband and I regretted that we didn't share our feelings with each other sooner…"

"I should tell Kai…that I like him?" Lux asks. She does not really understand the old woman too well and guessed that this is what she is telling her to do.

"Well that's up to you, young lady!" the old woman laughs, getting up to leave. She then tells the girl, "It was very nice talking you though, young one. These days I don't have too many people to keep me company anymore…"

Lux watches as the old woman walks away with the support of her cane.

"I should tell Kai…that I like him…" Lux mumbles, thinking about what the old woman just said. She then remembers something that Hilary had told her once:

"_The difference between liking something and loving something is that if you love something it means you like it a lot…"_

"I do like Kai…" Lux admits to herself. "I like Kai a lot…so it must mean I love Kai."

Her cheeks turn a little red at those words. Lux looks around for him; he had told her he'd be back shortly. Instead of seeing Kai however, she ends up setting her eyes on a nearby couple about to kiss. The image reminds her of the movies, manga and fairytales that Kenny and Hilary had shown her before.

"Love…" She mumbles, remembering what her friends had said about it.

...

Since the café was the only one in the immediate vicinity, the wait had been rather long. Kai now carries two soft drinks with him as he tries to make it down the street again through the crowd of shoppers. Passing the same shops as before, he again notices the iridescent, metallic butterfly hairpin that had been so similar to the one that he saw Lux stare at before. Deciding this time he might as well get it for her since he's right in front of the shop, he enters the store to speak to a salesclerk.

...

On the villa grounds, a certain redhead and his team enjoy the fresh forest air and the soft, peaceful sounds around them as they traverse through the wooded area to return to the main building. Tala and his team had trained almost nonstop for the past eight or so hours. Deciding that anything further would likely do more harm than good, they had started to head back to get some rest and to take a break.

In Tala's mind, he wonders what would happen after things are over. He had heard the previous evening from Tyson and the others that she is to go back to Sweden, her country of birth and where she holds citizenship. Yet, he can't exactly get her off his mind. Even if they had only known each other for less than a month a long time ago, the circumstances at the time, coupled with his own rash actions then, had made the girl called Lux one of the most prominent people to him in his life.

"I wonder…" he begins unintentionally.

"Wonder what?" Bryan asks.

"Uh…nothing." Tala tells him.

"Com'on, spit it out." Bryan urges him.

"Yeah, if there's something on your mind, you should tell us." Spencer tells him.

"Look, I said nothing, so there's nothing I have to say!" Tala insists.

A rustle nearby is heard as Bryan goes on, "Don't gimme that, I know when you…"

"Shh!" Tala interrupts him.

"Hm? What?" Bryan asks in a low voice.

The rustle becomes audible again.

"Hear that?" Tala points out the sound to them.

"I hear it," Ian answers in a whisper.

"Something near us?" Spencer glances around them.

"It's probably just an animal." Bryan concludes.

"Be quiet, look there!" Ian points to something beyond the trees.

Quieting down, the team hides behind two nearby trees as they watch a dark clad stranger with pink hair shuffle through the woods, pushing tree branches, twigs and other obstacles out of his way as he walks.

"Isn't he heading in the direction of the villa?" Ian asks.

"Yeah…" Tala answers him. "He might be an unwelcomed guest. Let's follow him and see what he's up to."

...

Kai dashes towards the fountain upon emerging from the crowded street of Via Condotti. Spotting Lux right away, he approaches the daydreaming girl.

"Sorry this took so long," He apologizes to her as he hands her the drink he got for her. "It's berry flavored tea."

"Thank you." She thanks him, turning to him. It would seem he had remembered that she does not like the taste of coffee, which, is unfortunately very abundant in Italy. Taking a sip, she finds the taste of it to be very pleasant. She tells him, "I like it."

Kai smiles, glad that he picked something she likes. He then, takes something out of his pocket and holds it out to show her. "Here,"

Lux looks up from her drink to the item before her and touches it with one hand.

"Do you like it?" Kai asks her.

Lux nods happily as Kai proceeds to put it on her.

"Thank you." Lux tells him happily.

Kai admires her appearance a little. It turns out the hairpin actually suits her very well, especially with the new dress on her. He then looks around and notices the sky is now cast in a golden orange light. Knowing that this signifies that soon the sun will set, he checks the time.

"I think it's time we head back now…" Kai tells her.

Lux looks up at him from her seat by the fountain, "Already?"

"Yeah. It's too bad there isn't enough time for us to see everything in Rome." Kai then explains, "The trip back will take a while so we should get going now if we wanna make it back at a reasonable time. There should be a metro station nearby so you won't have to walk all the way back to the Colosseum."

"Okay." Lux agrees, getting up to follow him as he begins leading her to the station.

...

The sun begins to dip as a privately owned boat enters the harbor and docks. Soon after, a group of five youths disembark happily, having had a day of fun at sea. Tyson marches eagerly on the pier towards the land as his friends follow him from behind. In his hand is a bucket of fish that he had caught. The legality of keeping the fish is unknown but despite Kenny's best efforts to persuade him to let the fish go in case it _is_ against the law, Tyson thought it couldn't hurt to keep a few for dinner anyway.

"Tonight's dinner is gonna be a feast!" Tyson grins as he approaches the spot the driver had said he'd wait at.

Kenny sighs. "I just hope no one really would care that we kept the fish…"

"Well, there's no police around, who _would_ care?" Daichi asks him. Daichi is in fact partially responsible for Tyson's insistence on keeping the fish.

"That's not the point, a violation against the law is still a violation against the law." Hilary states.

"Well don't worry about it," Wyvynn tells her. "It's only against the law if you get caught and for something small like this, I can't imagine why the police would give a dam."

"Yeah," Daichi agrees with him.

"I bet even the police has better things to do anyway than to go wasting their time with people for one or two fishes that they weren't supposed to fish out of the ocean." Wyvynn adds.

Hilary sighs too now. "In some ways, you three are so alike…"

Their conversation is interrupted by a shriek from Tyson up ahead.

"Huh?" Hilary turns in his direction. "What is it?"

Tyson looks back to his friends, "Uhm…guys…the car's gone…"

"I'm pretty sure the driver said he'd be here to pick us up when we're done…" Daichi says.

"Well that doesn't look like it's the case anymore." Kenny notes. "I think we have to take the taxi back. In the worst case scenario I guess we'd have to walk."

"How far is the villa from here?" Hilary asks.

"About one and a half to two miles." Kenny answers her. "On foot it should take maybe an hour to two."

"Except for me of course," Wyvynn comments, "But I'll join ya if you end up walking."

"I don't know how we can get a cab from here…" Kenny ponders out loud looking around.

"Let's just walk." Daichi impatiently starts in a direction. "I bet by the time we get a taxi we could be halfway home anyway."

"Daichi, that's the wrong direction," Kenny tells him to stop him from going any further. "And I guess he's right since we don't know what number to call and waiting for one to show up isn't really reliable."

...

The sky darkens as a lone black car arrives before a villa. Kai and Lux had made it back to the station in Orbetello and arranged for a car ride home. Emerging from the car to go inside, a maid at the door greets them.

"Welcome back," she tells them.

"Thank you…" Lux returns the greeting as Kai leads her inside.

"Miss," the maid follows after them. She then relays a message to them, "Master Ventus had returned earlier and had asked for you to go see him in the study on the second floor when you are back. He had asked me to emphasize that he would like for you to come alone."

"Okay…" Lux acknowledges the information. "I'll go soon."

Satisfied with the reply and having completed her task, the maid leaves them be.

Now, alone with Kai, Lux thinks back to the words that the old woman told her back by the fountain,

"_Although, a little advice to you: if you do like the boy, you should tell him while you're young if you haven't already."_

Lux had interpreted that as that she should tell Kai that she likes him. 'But Hilary had told me before…that if I 'like a lot', it means I 'love'…'

She then remembers the kissing couple that was also by the fountain where she had been waiting.

"Something the matter?" Kai asks her, getting a little worried for her from the way she seems to just stand there.

Startled by his voice, Lux turns to him and shakes her head to tell him everything is fine.

Deciding that it really was probably nothing, Kai tells her, "I'm heading back to my room, so I'll see you at dinner, 'kay?"

As he turns to go, Lux stops him with a small tug on his scarf.

"Yeah?" Kai turns back to her.

"Kai…I…" Lux begins, her mind becoming a jumble of confused and nervous thoughts from everything that she had heard and seen at the fountain and everything she had been told before that. She slowly closes up her distance to Kai and to his surprise, before he has any time to react, presses her lips lightly against his.

...

Complaining, whining, and generally unhappy, Tyson makes his way through the woods with his friends. According to Kenny, although there is a road that would lead to the villa, cutting through the woods would be able to save them a considerable amount of time. What Kenny had not mentioned however was that this route meant climbing over various fallen tree trunks, and pushing annoying branches and twigs out of their way. While he had walked through the woods before, none of the woodlands he had traversed had been as dense as this one is nor with as annoying a slope to climb. What annoyed him most was the fact that behind him, Hilary was complaining about the same thing along with the presence of various insects as if to remind him of his dissatisfaction.

"Would you quiet down already!" he yells over his shoulder to her. "I've had it with hearing your complaints!"

"As if you weren't complaining!" Hilary snaps back at him. "What about all of the things you were whining about just earlier?"

Wyvynn, who normally traveled much more comfortably due to his Magnanimae powers, is equally annoyed by the terrain but decides not to join in as the last few days of hanging out with these guys had taught him that arguing with either of these two is generally a bad idea. In agreement with this, Kenny also stays quiet.

"Well one complaint is good enough, no need for everyone to say the same thing!" Tyson returns as he climbs over a fallen tree.

"Well I'm not complaining one bit!" Daichi tells the two of them as he swings onto another tree branch a little ways ahead of them and waits for them to catch up. He is the only one enjoying the unplanned hiking trip. He then tells them. "Well if it makes you guys feel any better, there's flat land coming up ahead as well as a path we can take!"

"Thank heavens!" Tyson has now found some energy to keep climbing.

Soon the group makes it to the flat land that Daichi spoke of and then to the small road that he had pointed out.

Checking their location on his laptop, Kenny tells them, "If we follow this path, we should eventually be able to join the road that leads to the front entrance in about ten minutes."

"Alright!" an exhausted Tyson celebrates as he begins down the road. "Home here, I-"

He is cut off as he bumps into a dark clad man with pink hair who had just stepped out onto the path in front of the group.

Falling onto his butt on the ground, Tyson looks up at the guy angrily and yells, "Hey man what's the big i…dea…?"

The man was not alone. With him are four familiar faces that he and the rest of the group immediately recognize: the Blitzkrieg Boys.

...

Back at the villa's main entrance, Lux stands a step away from Kai, confused and flustered by what she had just done. Kai, equally stunned by what had just transpired, watches her as she attempts, with much hesitation or fear, to express something to him.

"I…" She begins, looking away from him. She then remembers the other thing that the old woman had said,

"…_even if it turns out that he doesn't return your feelings, at least you can move on…"_

'But what does…that mean…? Move on…?' she asks in her mind, confused by it. Remembering the other things that the old woman had said, she comes across the same words and images that had made her kiss him in the first place.

Summoning her courage, she takes a deep breath and tells him, "I love you!"

Kai stands still and silent upon hearing that. He had wanted to tell her words similar to what she had just said to him for a while now. In fact, the night before, had he not stopped himself from saying it, these exact words were what he would have said to her in his room. He takes a step towards her, causing her to nervously take a step back. Remembering her tendency to run away whenever things got tough, he grabs her by her wrist before she has a chance to run off anywhere and holds her to him.

"It's okay." he tells her, "I love you too."

Feeling her begin to relax in his arms, he gently strokes her hair and they stay this way for a small while until she is calm.

He then relaxes his grip on her a little to let her look up at him. He smiles and tells her, "Now, you have to go see Ventus, right?"

Lux nods.

"Then I'll see you at dinner," He tells her, brushing some hair from her face.

She nods again, a little disappointed that she has to part with him.

Kai holds her closer to him again and then turns her in the direction of the stairs to urge her to go to the study.

Just as she begins to move towards the stairs, she stops and turns back to him, "I'll tell Ventus…while I'm there…that I don't want to move back to Sweden with him."

Kai nods in response, as he watches her go.

...

Meanwhile, Tyson, Hilary, Daichi, Kenny, and Wyvynn stand surrounded by the stranger with pink hair and the strangely machine like Blitzkrieg Boys.

"Tala…?" Tyson looks at them surprised as to why they have been surrounded. "Bryan, Spencer and Ian too?"

"What are you guys doing?" Daichi asks. "And who's that guy?"

"His name's Zane." Wyvynn tells them. "He's a Magnanima. Just like me, Lux and Lok."

"What's going on?" Hilary asks, confused by what the Blitzkrieg Boys are doing.

"For now, those guys aren't your friends." Wyvynn tells her. "They're under Lok's control, which means they've come into contact with him sometime not too long ago."

"His control?" Hilary turns to him. "What do you mean?"

"I mean exactly what I said." Wyvynn responds. "Just as I can fly, Lok's power allows him to bring people temporarily under his control. It only works on normal people though; A Magnanima would be immune to it with the exception of the Knight who is susceptible to long term control instead of just normal."

"But the interview shouldn't be released until tomorrow." Kenny points out. "How did he find out where we are so fast?"

"That, I don't know. I don't know how his mind works." Wyvynn answers. "But just so you guys know I had no contact with them for a while and even while I had contact, I did not tell them where you guys were."

"Enough." Zane silences them. "Wyvynn, you should be glad that I am the one who came to get you. Lok would have just killed you without warning on the spot."

"And I'm supposed to be grateful?" Wyvynn asks. "Listen, Zane. While I had been observing these guys, I learned something; something that you would probably never learn if the only person you ever listen to and hang around with is Lok."

"And that is?" Zane asks without much care.

"People are not all going to be the way you think they are." Wyvynn tells him. "I believed up until recently that people are only going to shun us or try to use us for their own selfish purposes. Why? It's because that's what I had been told over and over since I had been thrown into that hell of a lab - From the scientists, to our handlers, to my fellow lab mice. You know what's the one thing I realized that was so flawed about that assumption?"

"Go on." Zane urges nonchalantly.

"People are all different from one another, in beliefs, in acceptance of things, everything." Wyvynn continues. "Just look at how these guys treat Lux and now me. I know the people at the lab just treated us like toys and played with our bodies, but never once have these people cared that I'm different nor have they treated me that way."

"Your point?" Zane asks.

"Stop doing what Lok wants." Wyvynn tells him more bluntly. "We won't necessarily be discriminated against or experimented on just because we're different. We were abducted as kids but we can defend ourselves now and in most countries we'd have the law on our side too. We can live like normal people. I'm sure of it."

"Are you finished?" Zane asks him. "Because, I don't care about any of that."

"Wha…" Wyvynn is surprised to hear that.

As if on cue, Tala and his team each quickly take hold of one of their friends whom they have surrounded. Looking around, Wyvynn finds that he is the only one still free to move around.

"Hey Tala, let me go!" Tyson protests. He begins to struggle, "Come on!"

"Yeah! Let us go!" Daichi screams as he tries to wriggle free from Spencer.

"It's no use." Kenny says, struggling against Ian's surprisingly strong grip. "You heard Wyvynn. These guys have been brainwashed somehow."

"Let them go." Wyvynn tells Zane. Seeing as Zane won't move a finger to his request, he turns around to try to free Tyson from Tala. "Hang on, buddy I'll free you."

"Hey help me too please!" Hilary calls out to him while trying to free herself from Bryan.

"Your 'friends' will not interfere." Zane tells Wyvynn from behind him as he knocks him out with one blow to the head.

"Wyvynn!" Tyson calls out to him as Zane picks him up around the stomach.

"He's fine." Zane tells Tyson, turning to greet an arriving helicopter.

The door to the helicopter opens and a rope ladder is released to him. Tyson and the others look up to see a livid, dark clad creature on the pilot seat of the craft, his large scaly wing folded and wrapped around his body.

"Good work, Zane," Lok tells Zane as he climbs aboard the aircraft with one arm while holding a limp Wyvynn in the other. "I've already finished on my end, so let us go pick up the other two."

"Yes, I understand." Zane acknowledges as he enters the aircraft.

"Wait!" Tyson calls as the helicopter begins to ascend. "Come back here!"

Tyson, Kenny, Daichi and Hilary watch helplessly from the grip of the Blitzkrieg Boys as the helicopter begins to fly away. As soon as it is out of sight, Tala, Bryan, Spencer and Ian each let go of their captives, much to the surprise of everyone.

"Tala?" Tyson turns around.

Tala shakes his head and holds it as if in pain before falling to his knees. "Tyson, I'm sorry. I…"

"We really didn't mean to do any of that." Bryan says, also suffering from a headache. "That guy piloting the helicopter…He somehow made us do his bidding."

"It's okay," Tyson tells them. "So you guys are back to normal now, right? How are you guys feeling?"

"We'll be fine." Spencer tells him, also in pain. "But go find that girl…"

"You mean Lux? Why?" Daichi asks.

"That's obvious! She's in danger!" Ian answers him.

Tala then tells them what he had learned, "That guy in the helicopter…we met him near the villa. He's placed everyone in the villa under his control. And Ventus…"

"Hey, take it easy!" Tyson tries to give some support to Tala.

"Don't let Lux…near Ventus…" Tala manages to say. "He's under Lok's control…"

Tyson and the others stand frozen for a moment, shocked by the information.

"Go!" Tala tells them to snap them back to their senses.

"Right." Tyson agrees. He turns to Hilary. "You, Daichi and Kenny somehow take care of these guys. I'll go find Lux."

"Leave it to us!" Hilary tells him

With that Tyson nods and runs off down the road.

...

Outside the villa, Kai strolls casually through the garden behind the main building. He had gone back to his room earlier but found himself feeling more up to a walk outside. In his mind, he wonders how things went on Lux's end. She had said that she would speak her mind to Ventus in regards to the matter of her moving back to her home country. He looks up at the darkened sky to see that the moon and the stars have already appeared. Finding it a little strange that the maids have yet to inform him that it is meal time, he looks in the direction of the dining room window to find that the lights there are off.

'That's strange.' Kai walks a little closer. 'Even if dinner's not ready yet, the maids should at least be setting things up. That aside, we hadn't really returned that late so they shouldn't have ate yet.'

The sound of a loud aircraft approaching interrupts his thoughts. Looking overhead, Kai sees a helicopter flying low in the sky towards the villa. He watches as the helicopter passes him and begins to hover on the other side of the building, generating a violent breeze in the process.

'That's the side where the study is.' Kai notes. 'Wait. The study? Why is a helicopter hovering outside of it?'

Concerned, Kai runs to the nearest entrance to enter the building. 'Lux…'

Running up the stairs and dashing down the hall, he kicks the door to the study open just in time to see the helicopter ascend and fly off into the distance from where he is standing. The window is left open and the room itself is a mess, Kai searches with his eyes around the room for any sign of Lux. The girl is nowhere to be found.

"Lux?" Kai calls her name, in hopes that maybe she is hiding.

A single object on the floor catches Kai's eyes. Picking up the ribbon and bell that had been left behind, Kai recalls the dream he had the evening before.

"No…"


	42. Resolve

**This actually came out to be a lot shorter than I thought it would so I'm sorry I didn't update sooner. Anyway, I know on the last chapter I said I'd try to update within like a month but unfortunately, with my insane class schedule for the fall semester that quickly proved impossible...**

**Anyway, here is the 42nd Chapter! Two more 'til it ends, guys! I want to thank Kiuku, Brillerai, and akin-'to38 for the last reviews I received. I continue to encourage all my readers to leave me any feedback, comments or critique you might have! Happy reading!**

* * *

**CHAPTER FORTY-TWO**

**~ Resolve ~**

* * *

Kai stands at the edge of the villa's grounds overlooking the moonlit Mediterranean Sea. Every few seconds, the sound of the water crashing onto the rocky shore would reach his ears in a steady rhythm.

In his mind, he recalls the night he had found Lux injured at the park. That night, he had carried her back to his home and nursed her wounds but more importantly, he had made her a promise:

_"…I won't let him hurt you again."_

'That's right…' Kai stares down into the sea. 'I promised her that night…that I'd protect her.'

He then remembers her trust in him – her hopeful expression, her relieved and happy smile in reaction to his promise and how she had allowed him to hold onto her hand until she slept.

His thoughts then shifts to just a few hours ago, when they had returned to the villa together. She had kissed him, expressed to him how she felt for him and then he had sent her off, without any suspicion whatsoever, to Ventus even though just the night before, his dream had warned him of the danger. Racked with guilt for what had happened and regretting deeply his judgment of that dream, his clenched fist shakes with his anger for himself.

'I let her down…' He admits in his mind.

He did not even want to think about her current state; he feared the worst for her right now and at the same time, he wanted to run away from it. Recalling Ventus's test for him the night he found Lux injured, he tells himself mentally, 'I couldn't protect her…maybe I was never fit for it to begin with…'

"Kai," a voice addresses him, interrupting his thoughts.

Without turning, Kai already knew who it was. It was Tala. He stands still for a while, waiting for Tala to say more.

Tala, noticing his friend's clenched fist stays quiet for a moment. Having been told what happened at the villa while he was under control, he can only imagine what Kai must be feeling. He himself had similar regrets before, after all. He takes a few steps towards him and stands by him.

For a while, they stand together in silence.

After some time, Tala tells him, "While we were still at the estate in Sweden, I told Lux what I knew of her past…and how I had been involved in how she ended up the way she is now."

Kai remains silent, but listens.

"That night, Lux told me she doesn't blame me for what I did…even though it could have completely been avoided." He goes on.

This part however, just made Kai feel even worse. If anything and especially if something did happen to her now…to the very least, he wants her to blame him. Even if she might not know that he could have prevented her from being taken away, he wants to be blamed for it to satisfy his guilt.

Not wanting to hear more for fear that Tala would say something about how she'd probably forgive him, Kai turns to go elsewhere.

As he does Tala's goes on to say more.

"If I could go back in time," Tala says, making sure Kai can hear him clearly.

Kai stops.

"I'd definitely have done something to correct my actions – whether it be choosing a different course of action to begin with or chasing after her to save her." Tala finishes.

Kai continues to walk away.

...

In the villa's drawing room, Tyson, Kenny and Daichi sit, watching over a recovering Ray and an also recovering Max. Hilary enters the room with some glasses of water for Max and Ray and sets them down before the two of them.

"Thanks," Ray thanks her, taking the drink. The back of his head still hurts from being knocked out earlier and his body aches from being thrown down into the cellar with Max.

"You're welcome," Hilary answers.

"So are you guys feeling any better?" Tyson asks. He had been the one to discover them tied up in the cellar after the group noticed the two of them were missing.

"Yeah," Ray answers.

"We never expected the maids would do that to us though…" Max adds. "They've even disappeared off somewhere."

"I just can't believe Ventus would turn on us like that…' Tyson angrily says.

Daichi adds, "Yeah!"

"He might not have turned on us at all, Tyson." Kenny counters.

"What do you call it then?" Tyson turns to him. "You heard it from Kai. He called Lux up to the study and then handed her over to that Lok guy on the helicopter before joining them himself. All those plans he told us about was bogus!"

"Tyson," Ray addresses him. "Kenny might be right."

"Huh?" Tyson turns to his teammate.

"Ray and I realized something just after you guys left for your boat trip." Max tells him. "Ray saw a glow in Ventus' eyes."

"It was just like the one that Lux, Wyvynn and Kull has in their eyes." Ray details.

"But didn't Wyvynn say that the Magnanimae can't be controlled by Lok?" Hilary asks, confused.

"He also said that one of the Magnanimae, the Knight, to be specific, can be under long term control." Kenny corrects her.

Piecing it all together and realizing what had actually happened, Tyson stands still to think.

"What should we do now?" Daichi asks.

"I don't know…" Tyson answers irritated.

"What do you mean you don't know?" Hilary scolds him. "We're going to go find Lux and Wyvynn obviously!"

Outside the room, Kai walks by but stops upon hearing his friends' voices from the drawing room.

Tyson turns to her angrily. "And where do you suggest we begin? They flew away in a helicopter, remember? They can be anywhere by now."

"Actually, we might be able to find them easily." Kenny says, opening up something on his laptop.

"Really?" Tyson takes a closer peak.

"Last night, while you and Daichi were having that watermelon eating contest, Max, Ray and I were talking to Wyvynn and we asked him a few questions about the lab and the Magnanimae." Kenny tells him.

Kai continues to listen to this from outside the room.

Kenny goes on, "According to Wyvynn, there's a small island off the coast here in the middle of the Mediterranean where the altar that Lok needs to use is located. It's the place Ventus called the Temple of Ouroboros. I noted down the coordinates on the map for this place somewhere…hold on."

The group waits for him to find the coordinates.

"Here it is!" Kenny successfully locates his file. He then tells the bitbeast stuck in his computer, "Dizzy, open up a map with the coordinates 38° N 7° E marked, please,"

"But how would this let us find Lok right now?" Tyson asks. "Does he already have everything he needs to perform the ritual?"

"Probably not…" Kenny answers her. "Wyvynn mentioned that Kull's corpse was missing by the time he took Sparky's corpse there which might mean that the Magnanimae aren't all assembled there right now."

"So doesn't that mean that he isn't necessarily there right now?" Tyson questions, confused.

"Maybe so, but the ones we want are Lux, Wyvynn and possibly Ventus." Kenny answers. "Lok flew off with them in a helicopter. I couldn't tell which model it was specifically, but most helicopters tend to last at best a few hours with fuel usage proportional to the amount of weight it has to lift. This means that it might be in his best interest to drop off some passengers somewhere – especially if he has to go around looking for a corpse that got stolen."

"And the best place for dropping them off would be that altar…" Ray finishes the thought.

"But what if he already found the corpse before he took Lux and Wyvynn there?" Hilary asks.

"I don't think so." Kenny says. "Remember the note we got from Ventus that included the airline tickets?"

"Yeah?" Tyson nods.

"He mentioned that Lok wants to obtain control of every bitbeast in the world through Psyche to destroy the world in a detailed explanation enclosed with it." Kenny goes on, "If he has already performed the ritual, I think we would know about it by now from any effects it might have on Dragoon and the others."

Tyson, Max and Daichi each check the bitchip on their blades.

"You're right…" Max mutters, noting his beyblade's normality.

Kai leaves, turning for the door. As he does, he breaks into a run just as he passes by Bryan who is on his way to the drawing room.

...

Elsewhere, Lok , Zane and Ventus step off the stolen helicopter onto a circular stone platform with stone pillars. Zane carries Wyvynn by his abdomen and Ventus carries Lux in his arms. The two of them then proceed to place down the two by a pillar.

Eyeing the stone temple around him, Lok quickly notices something. "Sparky's not here…"

Zane and Ventus stand back up straight to face him.

Lok turns to Ventus, "Where is Sparky's body?"

"I had someone who goes by the name Traumgeber take him away from here some time ago." He answers obediently. "However, I had instructed him not to allow me to know the places to which he had taken Sparky and Kull."

"And where may I find this Traumgeber?" Lok asks dryly.

"I do not know." Ventus answers again. "Prior to meeting with you on the rooftop at the hotel in Berlin, I had instructed him to go into hiding by text. I had also deleted his contact information immediately after."

Lok did not look happy to hear that. "I see…"

Lok then looks around for a moment, first to Wyvynn and then to Lux. He then turns back to Ventus. "Do either of you have any advice as to where to look for Kull and Sparky then?"

"I do," Ventus replies again. "Traumgeber is not able to travel far so both of them should be somewhere in Europe still. The most likely places are around the Mediterranean or central Europe."

Lok grins. "Good."

He then turns back to the helicopter.

"The two of you shall refuel this thing with the auxiliary fuel tank then." Lok commands as he climbs back into the pilot's seat. He then turns to Ventus again. "Also, I want you to come with me."

Ventus nods in compliance.

...

Back at the villa, Tyson, Daichi, Hilary, Max and Ray crowd around Kenny as he plans their trip to the coordinates given to him by Wyvynn. Tala, Bryan, Spencer and Ian are present as well, watching from a fair distance in the drawing room.

"Okay, the boat we were on should have enough gas to go for about 5 more hours with extra gas on board for a total of 10 hours of sailing…I've also had Dizzy map out the route just now to ease up navigation. There will be two taxis here to come pick us up soon to take us to the harbor." Kenny announces while double checking things. "I think we're all set."

"Alright! Let's go!" Tyson begins rushing out to the door.

"Wait for me!" Daichi chases after him.

The others begin to follow, albeit at a calmer pace for some.

While walking out into the hall, Ray looks around.

"Hey guys, did anyone notify Kai?" he asks.

"Huh?" Max looks around.

Spencer glances around, "He's not here…"

They pause for a moment as Tyson calls for them to hurry up from the outside.

"Wait, I'll go look for him," Hilary darts off.

Bryan watches her go. A few moments later, he recalls something. "Hm…I do remember seeing him rush off just a little earlier…from outside the drawing room while you guys were talking too…"

Ray turns to him, "Where do you suppose he's gone to?"

Tala stands frozen. He then mutters, "I think I might know where…"

Ray, having heard, him turns to him for a moment.

Soon, Hilary returns to the drawing room entrance. "Uhm…guys?"

They turn to her.

She continues, "I can't find Kai anywhere!"


	43. To the Isle of Souls

**So, I'm sorry there was a slight delay with this chapter. First of all, I had fallen a bit ill the last few days. (Flu season's in full effect but fortunately I've been stocking up on oranges and garlic...)**

**My groceries aside, switching back and forth between stories is kind of a pain; it's my second reason for why this took longer than I'd like. Regardless, here is the second to last chapter. It's again, not that long. However, the next one will probably be longer and you may want to check my profile often to see when the expected update dates are. It may change again.**

**Anyway, a special thank you to akin, Brillerai, and James Birdsong for the last reviews. :) Enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

**CHAPTER FORTY-THREE**

**~ To the Isle of Souls ~**

* * *

The steady hum of the boat's engines fills the chill air of night. The seawater's rhythmic movement beneath Tyson and his friends gently rock the boat's cabin. The group, consisting of Tyson, Hilary, Max, Ray, Daichi, Kenny, Tala, Bryan, Spencer and Ian, sits quietly in the cabin. Some are crowded around Kenny who is observing their course on a map while others sit scattered around the space of the cabin. Bryan stands at the steering wheel, following the occasional directions given by Kenny.

"Hm…The marked location should be about five kilometers more in the southwest direction." Kenny notes, carefully using the scale on the satellite map to measure their remaining distance to the target location. "It should come into view soon."

Bryan listens as he continues to steer. For a while more, only the sound of the boat's motor is heard as everyone but Kenny and Bryan begins peering out the window ahead for a visual of their destination.

"Hey are you sure we're going in the right direction?" Tyson asks when he can't see anything ahead.

"According to the compass we're headed southwest." Bryan tells him.

Tyson looks out the window again.

"On my map, it says we're quite close and we seem to be only getting closer." Kenny says. "At this distance, the island should probably be in view by now."

"But there's nothing outside…" Hilary notes, looking around more.

"And there's no sign of Kai outside either…" Ray looks around.

"Yeah…" Max agrees with him.

Bryan stops the boat, not sure what they should do.

"Hm…" Kenny stares analytically for a while at his map.

"We're practically at the place indicated by the coordinates." Daichi comments over Kenny's shoulder.

'Exactly, but that's what's wrong.' Kenny thinks to himself. 'Normally, the horizon line is about five kilometers away from the average person. Since we've passed this mark, the island should be in view but it's not. The rest of the information that Wyvynn gave is nearly identical to what we know from Ventus although a lot of it is new. Could Wyvynn have lied to us? He was pretty willing to answer my questions last night…'

"Chief?" an impatient Tyson calls to Kenny as he approaches the boy.

'We did only know the guy for about a week but he seemed so sincere…' Kenny ponders on. He then enlarges the map on his laptop as much as possible. 'Maybe the island _is_ here and these coordinates are only approximate…'

"Hey Kenny?" Tyson stops right in front of him. "What do we do now? There's no island here."

"Hold on, I'm thinking!" Kenny tells him, refocusing on finding the island on the map.

Kenny scans the map quickly over the area surrounding the exact coordinates that were given to him as the others around him watch.

'There really isn't an island here…' Kenny concludes. However, he then notices something strange on the image. The color was just a little odd on the marked spot. He looks closer but his concentration is once again spoiled when Ian points something out in the sky.

"Look!" Ian points to a moving aircraft.

Everyone turn to the outside of the window to see a helicopter flying overhead. It was still some distance above them and didn't seem to care that they were here. Looking at it closer, Kenny recognizes it.

'That's the same helicopter that had kidnapped Wyvynn!' Kenny watches as it approaches some destination ahead. 'Maybe these coordinates aren't wrong after all!'

He didn't seem to be the only one to recognize it; those who were present when Wyvynn was kidnapped had facial expressions that seem to indicate that they, too, realize that it's the very same helicopter. However, as soon as the aircraft traveled a bit further ahead, it disappears from the sky, leaving everyone there confused.

"Uhm…did that helicopter just disappear into thin air?" Tyson asks, staring dumbfounded after where it last was.

"It sure did." Ray affirms.

"Bryan, continue steering the boat forward but at a slow speed, please." Kenny turns to Bryan.

"But there's nothing ahead." Daichi protests confused.

"No, I think it's there but somehow, we just can't see it." Kenny tells him.

Bryan responds, "If you say so."

...

The helicopter lands on clear ground some ways from a circular stone temple. Soon, the door opens and Lok steps out followed by Ventus who carries the cloth-wrapped bodies of Kull and Sparky with him. Zane stands at the edge of the ancient stone platform overlooking where the helicopter had landed as its passengers begin ascending the steps toward the temple.

"Welcome back." Zane greets them politely from the entrance of the ancient ruins.

Lok nods in acknowledgement of the greeting as he passes by his underling with Ventus following emotionlessly behind him.

"Place those two down in their appropriate places and arrange the two that are already here." Lok orders Ventus.

Ventus nods and begins his work.

"I will help him." Zane offers, approaching Lux and Wyvynn who are still unconscious.

Lok does not bother to react to Zane's actions and simply allows him do to as he likes.

In short moments, Ventus and Zane are finished. They stand back and await further orders.

Lok looks around. Satisfied with the arrangements, he tells his minion, "Zane, prepare the Artifact of the Abyss."

Zane nods in compliance and disappears off to carry out his order. He soon returns with a large box and carries it steadily to the three altars at the far edge of the ruined temple overlooking the sea.

As he does, Wyvynn stirs a little unnoticed by the others present. Blinking his eyes open, he finds himself gazing at the near full moon.

'Where am I…?' he wonders as he shifts his eyes down from the moon and onto the moonlit temple platform. Roaming his eyes around a little, he spots Zane opening a box by one of three altars. Immediately, he recognizes the place and recalls being knocked out while trying to talk some sense into Zane. 'Damn it, they're already this far?'

He tries to move but his body is rather sluggish. He then watches as Zane takes an oddly shaped object out from the box before placing it onto the altar closest to him. 'I gotta stop this!'

Lok turns to Ventus as Zane finishes with the set up. "Get to your proper place."

Ventus nods and takes a spot somewhat across from Wyvynn and Lux where he stands still. Zane, having completed his task joins him at an adjacent spot.

Wyvynn watches as Lok steps up to the tallest altar. Now, much more energetic than when he first awoke, he takes out his blade and quietly attaches it to his launcher, getting ready to shoot. He will have one chance to destroy the artifact before Lok finishes the ritual. He must wait until Lok is occupied to avoid failing at the task. Unknown to him, his movements, although subtle, are watched by Zane.

...

Kai steers his boat slowly around the place that is indicated by the coordinates mentioned by Kenny. Although certain that this is the spot indicated, he sees nothing but seawater all around.

'Is it possible that I somehow remembered the coordinates wrong?' he asks himself in his mind. 'No, that can't be…but…there's nothing here.'

He looks around some more. No matter how he looks at it, it just looks like he is in the middle of nowhere. He had expected an island here but there's nothing here. He then notices something on one of the instruments on the boat.

'I'm low on fuel….' Kai notes. He curses mentally. 'Guess I'll have to get to a nearby shore.'

Knowing he'll be stranded if he does not make it to land soon, he speeds up the boat and turns in the direction of the nearest shore according to the map on board with him. Soon after the boat picks up speed, an island comes into view close ahead. Kai makes an attempt to stop the boat but finds himself on a high speed collision course with the shore regardless. Knowing what will happen, he braces for the impact.

...

Lok gazes coldly at his former servant who had attempted to knock the artifact off the altar with his beyblade. Zane, who had noticed that Wyvynn was awake, was the one who stopped him. Now both their blades were circling each other on the stone platform.

"You should have remained still." Zane tells Wyvynn who is now on his feet.

"No way!" Wyvynn returns.

"Is it that nonsense again that made you do this?" Zane asks.

"Nonsense?" Wyvynn repeats. He then recalls the conversation he had with Zane before he got here. "No!"

A loud noise sounds not too far away, disrupting their dispute.

Lok turns to the source of the noise and stares in that direction for a while. He then turns to Ventus, "We'll restart the ritual in a bit. First, we have an uninvited guest on the south side of the island. Go take care of him."

Ventus nods and heads to the steps leading downhill from the temple.

As he goes, Zane takes this opportunity to attack a distracted Wyvynn with his blade.

...

Tyson stares outside the cabin's window with an impatient look on his face. He and his friends had been drifting around here for a while now. Although the sight of the helicopter earlier had encouraged them to continue searching for the island in this area, so far they are still wandering about with no island in sight.

"How much longer are we going to be going around in circles here?" He whines.

"Tyson, please, stop whining. It's not helping anyone." Hilary lectures him. "We're trying our best here,"

"That helicopter we saw earlier disappeared right around here." Kenny says. "Assuming the island is simply somehow hidden, we should stumble into it. It's the only explanation for why that helicopter somehow disappeared the way it did."

"I suppose…" Tyson calms down, looking somewhat worried. "But there's no sign of Kai anywhere here either. Tala did say that this is probably the place he came to, right?"

"Well the other boat was missing when we got to the harbor." Tala defends his earlier statement.

"I think it might be possible that Kai might have already gotten to the island." Kenny says, as he looks on his laptop's map closer. "He did take the smaller and faster boat."

The cabin is silent for a little while. However, that is soon broken by Kenny again. "Hey guys, I think I might know why we haven't seen the island yet…"

"Why?" Tyson turns to him.

"That odd looking spot on the water on the satellite map…we've been circling it this whole time." Kenny says. "Bryan, try turning the boat to the left."

"Got it." Bryan responds, turning the steering wheel.

A few moments after their shift in direction, they hear a rough noise underneath the boat and a somewhat violent rocking before stopping altogether.

"What happened?" Tyson asks.

"I'll go take a look." Ray offers, taking the flashlight with him to the deck.

The others watch from inside the cabin.

"Uhm…guys…" Ray calls the others out as he stares at what is underneath the boat. "I think we hit a rocky reef."

"But look!" Hilary points ahead.

Some ways from them lies the dark silhouette of a small, rocky island.

"Eureka!" Tyson exclaims happily.

"But how are we going to get there?" Kenny asks.

"We can use the life boats." Max points out.

...

On the other side of the island, Kai stirs and opens his eyes to his new surroundings. Rubbing some sand from his eyes, he sits up and looks around. It would seem he had managed to somehow land onto the beach with almost no harm to his body save for a few minor scrapings. A little ways from him is his boat which is somewhat tilted at the edge of the water. Although the watercraft appears to be intact, he is certain something on it or in it must be broken.

Kai gets on his feet and looks around the dusky beach. Ahead of him, in a small grove of trees leading upwards to something at the top of the hill on the island, is a stone path. As he approaches it, a figure steps out into view. Despite the darkness of early morning, he recognizes this figure and growls upon seeing his face.

"Ventus…"

* * *

**Okay, as usual, leave me any feedback you got!**

**edit 01/19/13: One of my readers/followers(Delirium1015) started a community for KaixOC fics and have asked me to post this information to inform you all. Please have a look via this user's profile page if you're interested in checking out the archives there or if you want to become a staff member.**


	44. Insomnium

**Hello! Finally, this story is complete. **

**First, I am very sorry this exceeded the expected update window. I know I have been repeatedly delayed in my updates for various reasons mentioned in my profile page. I apologize sincerely for the wait.**

**Second, the age rating for this fic might change due to blood/violence depending on the reply I get from support. At the moment, after looking at various guidelines for movies and games, this will remain rated T (Age 13+). If anyone is for some reason uncomfortable with anything here, please pm me, as a favor to me, so that I may better assess the appropriate age rating and avoid future trouble.**

**Third, I must give a thank you to akin, Brillerai, Scarlette Shizuru and a real-life friend of mine who have been giving me support/reviews.**

**And now, on with the final chapter...**

* * *

**CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR**

**~ Insomnium ~**

* * *

For a while, a veil of silence covers the darkened beach on which Kai and Ventus stood. Easily visible, like moonlight, is the soft, iridescent glow of Ventus' eyes. Kai stares back at them as Ventus makes his way out onto the sand from the grove. He stops some ways away from Kai.

"Where's Lux?" Kai asks.

Ventus simply remains silent and expressionless.

'Why is he staring like that…?' Kai notices his facial expression.

He then asks, "Did you plan this all along?"

Again, Ventus remains silent. He then takes out his beyblade and launcher. Realizing what he is about to do, Kai does the same and reaches for Dranzer. In mere seconds, sounds of clashing beyblades begin to fill the empty beach.

...

At the ruins atop the hill, Lok watches nonchalantly by the altar as Wyvynn and Zane spar with their blades before him. Earlier, Zane had failed to hit his target during his surprise attack and now Wyvynn is fully prepared to intercept him. Round and round he watches their blades spin, chasing each other and occasionally colliding into one another before bouncing back away.

Wyvynn, feeling somewhat betrayed and hurt by Zane's ruthlessness towards him, asks bluntly, "Zane, before we go on…tell me…tell me the reason why you refuse to even listen to me. What drives you to continue to support Lok's goal? What is it that you see in what Lok is offering you?"

"I am simply supporting the goal of the person whom I trust the most in this world." Zane replies calmly. "I care not for what he is offering because he has promised that his goals will not endanger my life. Hence, to me, all of the things you've said in regards to this world's treatment of us is without meaning; I don't care how others will treat or think of me."

Wyvynn looks at him shocked for just a moment but then acknowledges his words. "I see."

For a moment all three stand still and silent.

"And you, Lok?" Wyvynn turns to him. "I'm sure Zane must've mentioned the contents of that conversation I had with him. It's not impossible for you to fit into the current world so why do you want to destroy and recreate this world so badly still? What exactly do you have in mind?"

Lok turns to him coldly. "Yes, he did inform me of your little chat, albeit briefly. However, it's not really relevant to me..."

"What do you mean by 'not really relevant'?" Wyvynn asks.

Lok ponders for a moment. "How shall I make you understand...?"

"Just make your point." Wyvynn rushes him.

Lok takes his time to think. He then replies, "Well, for one, my reason for doing all this was never to fit in to begin with. It was merely something I told you and those dead fools over there to convince you three to comply with me."

Wyvynn did not appear pleased to hear that. "So you lied to me, Kull, and Sparky."

Lok nods.

Wyvynn, now quite angry, goes on, "And once we agreed with your goal, you proceeded to use us to escape, to evade our pursuers and to carry out the rest of your plan. However, when our usefulness ran out, you disposed of us however you saw fit or in whichever way was convenient. That about right?"

Lok raises an eyebrow in slight disgust. "That's a rather nasty way to put it; I prefer to call it a form of resourcefulness."

"Whatever!" Wyvynn loudly brushes his comment off. Enraged, he asks, "So what else? If your reason wasn't to fit in, then what was it? Is your goal even what you said it was?"

Lux opens her eyes slowly, having awoken due to the loud commotion.

Not paying mind to the girl who just woke up, Lok proceeds to answer the question. "My reasons are simple. I just wanted revenge, really."

"Revenge?" Wyvynn doesn't seem to believe him. He then asks, "Didn't you already accomplish that?"

"You mean that laboratory?" Lok says with amusement. "No, something so simple would never suffice."

"Laboratory…?" Lux repeats softly upon hearing it.

Zane turns to Lux, upon hearing her whisper.

"Then what?" Wyvynn asks. "What would suffice for you?"

"I want to claim the dream that those foolish scientists so cruelly and fervently sought after." Lok says with a hint of sadism in his voice.

"Their dream?" Wyvynn repeats.

"Do you know their reason for defiling our humanity and stripping us of our original place in this world?" Lok asks.

"Wasn't it to create soldiers with supernatural powers for world domination?" Wyvynn replies with a question.

Lok nods, "That's right."

"So I suppose you want to take over the world too now?" Wyvynn asks.

"No." Lok replies simply. "I've already done that, practically. Once Ventus returns from his task, the ritual will resume and I will ensure that there will be no more interruptions this time."

"What do you plan to do after?" Wyvynn asks.

"I plan to become a god on this planet and exterminate every last human being." Lok states menacingly.

"Why?" Wyvynn asks. "Why something so extreme?"

"That's simple." Lok smiles devilishly. "Despite Bizmark and Dr. Vaniard's inhumane actions, they were actually working towards a beneficial goal for humanity. Hence, I will work towards the opposite. I'll instead ensure that humanity will cease to exist."

"So you'll rule an empty world at the end just to accomplish that goal?" Wyvynn then comments, "That's kind of pathetic and sad at the same time."

"I beg to differ." Lok replies to that casually. He then turns to the girl on the ground some ways away from them both. "Besides, Lux would enjoy seeing the world of humans disappear too. The _real _Lux anyway…"

"Wha…?" Wyvynn turns to see Lux awake and staring at the two of them confused by the last statement.

Seeing his reaction, Lok goes on, "Oh right, I've almost forgotten. You've probably never interacted much with the girl before she had lost her memory so you know only the basics about her."

Wyvynn returns his attention to the silver haired demon.

"I have, however." He goes on. "We were kept in adjacent cells in the laboratory. She was such a nice young girl when she first arrived at the lab; she would treat everyone kindly and was the only one besides S.S. to see me as a 'person'. But all of that changed shortly after."

Lux sits frozen as a brief scene of her and Lok conversing through a crack in a thin, white wall flashes through her mind. She then winces as she begins to feel a growing pain in the back of her head.

"I watched her transform." Lok goes on to say as he watches Lux struggle with her increasingly painful headache. "With each painful trial we went through, she grew more resentful towards everything in the world and with each memory taken from her, she lost a piece of herself and consequently a piece of the kindness she once had. Finally, by the time Ventus broke her out of her cell, she was no different from an empty shell – no memories, no emotions. She was like an oversized doll except when placed into combat simulation."

Now, more fragments of her memory are returning. She can now recall some very brief scenes - her first encounter with Tala, the betrayal she felt when she was taken away to the lab, the sterile hallways of the place she had been taken to, being placed into a room filled with armed children of various ages, completing various computer programming exercises, being cuffed and held down onto a hard surface and being surrounded by surgeons. However, with each fragment she recalls, her headache grows proportionally and soon these same memory fragments that have returned also begins to disappear. Wyvynn watches her with concern as Zane and Lok remains cold and silent.

Lok then continues, this time speaking to Lux directly. "You may remember the times when they used us as guinea pigs for those enhancements. For example, like when they had to put those nanomachines into our bodies to maintain our lives after they royally messed up their theory regarding a crucial biochemical process…"

Lux begins to clutch her head in pain as some more of her memory attempts to return.

"…Or perhaps a memory of some of the training they had us do would have more impact. Like when we were forced to fight in those deathmatches…" Lok goes on.

"Stop it…" Wyvynn tells him, realizing that his words must be triggering something in the girl.

"…No wait! Why don't you try recalling that surgery you had on your back! If you take a peak in the mirror you'll even see the results!"

"That's enough!" Wyvynn tries to interrupt him. "Why are you saying all of that to her right now? You know how she'd react to _that_ particular memory."

Lok replies to him, "I was merely trying to help her recover her memories. As someone who was there during the most emotionally impacting moments of her life, I can easily help her overcome the nanomachines that restrict what she can and cannot remember, after all."

"Well that was unasked for." Wyvynn faces him sternly.

"Oh?" Lok muses. "Does she not want to know about her past?"

The four are silent for a moment. In this time, Lux begins to calm down again, taking heavy breaths and leaning against the pillar she had been placed near.

"I think I've heard enough." Wyvynn finally says. "I don't think I care anymore about your motives or your reasoning. Not only have you been lying but you've even harmed those who had allied with you. You're no different from a madman."

"I'm hurt…" Lok responds in an uncaring tone. A moment later, his face twists into a sadistic grin. "…NOT!"

Wyvynn watches as Lok aims his already loaded Extend-type launcher at him. Reacting quickly, he sends his blade upwards off some nearby rubble and collides it hard into Lok's launcher in an attempt to knock it out of his hands. However, instead of causing the launcher to drop, a deep crack is made in the exterior of the gun-shaped launcher, causing it to begin cracking. Reacting to Wyvynn's actions, Zane sends his blade to attack Wyvynn's as it lands back on the stone platform, keeping it occupied again.

Lok watches as some pieces of his launcher falls to the ground. He curses and throws the thing aside, knowing that it is now unusable. He then turns to Zane, indicating to the launcher in his grip. "Lend me that."

Zane complies and hands him his launcher. All the while, he keeps his eyes on Wyvynn.

While Wyvynn, Zane and Lok begin their two on one match, Lux, who has now calmed down significantly stares at the broken launcher that had landed a little ways from her. A small, glowing, lavender fragment catches her eyes. As if called to it, she approaches the broken device and reaches a hand out to touch the glowing object.

...

Meanwhile, Tyson and Tala stand on an empty beach with the rest of their friends ready to receive Hilary and Kenny from the arriving lifeboat. Holding out a hand, Tyson helps Hilary and Kenny as they step off the inflatable boat while Tala takes hold of the small boat and drags it onto the sand.

"Did you set off the distress signal?" Tyson asks.

"Yeah but there's no guarantee anyone will find us." Kenny replies. "Don't forget that there's some kind of barrier surrounding this island that hides it from sight."

"Well, it's better than nothing at all." Max joins in. "Who knows, maybe they'll stumble pass the barrier like we did."

"Let's hope so…" Kenny looks worried. "Because if not we might be stuck here for a while since there's a good chance the boat got damaged when it hit that underwater rock."

"By the way, where are we?" Hilary asks, trying to look around in the dark.

"We seem to be on a beach." Max answers, now taking a few steps along the shore to explore his immediate surroundings with his flashlight. He then notices the shape of a familiar object some distance ahead barely illuminated by the scattered rays from the device in his hand. Pointing the flashlight in its direction, he recognizes it and calls to his friends, "Hey guys! Come and look what I found."

Tyson and the rest soon join him.

"That's the Alfhild's other boat!" Ray exclaims, recognizing it also.

"Which means Kai must have already made it here before us." Hilary summarizes.

"But where is he?" Daichi asks, looking around for him. "I don't see him."

Tyson scrambles onto the more or less in tact wreck and looks for Kai. Unable to find him, he reports, "He's not in here."

"And it looks like his boat crashed onto shore." Tala observes.

Bryan looks around with his flashlight. As he sweeps their new surroundings with the unfocused light, he spots something in a grove of trees and brings it to attention to the others. "Hey look!"

They turn in the direction he indicates to.

"There's a path leading further inland." Tyson notes as he climbs back off the tilted boat.

"More like further uphill…" Tala corrects him, squinting to see further down the path and spotting the silhouette of a peak.

Kenny thinks for a moment. "This island is fairly small. If that path leads anywhere, I think it will be to that temple that Wyvynn mentioned."

"Then do you think Kai went on ahead there?" Tyson asks.

"Probably." Kenny nods.

"Alright then, let's go!" Tyson begins up the path, leading the group forward.

...

Following his lead, the others join him in a dash upwards through the ancient grove. After a while of running, they get close to the end of the path and spot a large aircraft up ahead.

"It's that helicopter!" Daichi cries upon seeing it.

"Alright!" Ray enthusiastically exclaims. "I think we found them, guys."

Within moments, the group reaches the peak where a partially collapsed stone temple lies. The temple, consisting mainly of a stone platform surrounded by seven pillars and three altars, is decorated with the remnants of what appears to have once been a roof. At the very center are three figures, two of them clad in dark clothing and the third, a familiar lad with ice blue hair. Lux sits some ways from them against a pillar. Her expression is strangely blank and in her hand is a small glowing object.

"It's Lux and Wyvynn!" Tyson announces happily.

Lok, Zane and Wyvynn turn for a moment to the newcomers.

"But where's Kai?" Daichi asks, catching up.

"Tyson? …And the rest of you too?" Wyvynn responds to their arrival in surprise. He appears quite out of breath. "You all came…"

"Well duh! We weren't going to watch a friend get kidnapped and do nothing!" Tyson replies.

"You said it!" Max adds.

Lok briefly eyes Zane. Zane, noticing his gaze, in turn nods slightly to return the signal.

"Thanks, you guys!" Wyvynn responds with gratitude.

"So where's Kai?" Tyson asks.

"I woke up not too long ago and I haven't seen him." Wyvynn answers honestly. "Was he kidnapped too?"

"Well, no but we thought he came here earlier…" Hilary says.

"Ahem." Lok coughs to get their attention.

As Wyvynn is about to turn back to his two opponents, Zane, attacks his beyblade with a fury of assaults. Having been caught off guard and now struggling to avoid defeat, Wyvynn tries to evade the storm of attacks with little success.

Tyson and the others realize by now that their friend is caught in the middle of an unfair match of two against one. Noticing the sinister grin on Lok's face, Tyson shifts his attention to Lok's beyblade. His eyes follow it as it circles around the trio in the center using the fallen rubble from the former roof as a cover to avoid notice. When it reaches the point directly behind Wyvynn, Tyson realizes that Lok likely plans to attack him while his beyblade is occupied with Zane's.

"No way am I letting you do that, buddy!" Tyson mutters, to the surprise of some of the others near him who had not realized Lok's plan.

He readies his blade and launcher. Just as Lok's blade is about to launch from some sloped rubble and into Wyvynn, Tyson launches his blade somewhere along its trajectory. Hearing the loud sound behind him, Wyvynn turns to see both Lok's and Tyson's blades returning to the floor after their elastic collision in midair.

The three in battle return their attention to Tyson as Max and Ray applaud him for his deed.

"I owe you one!" Wyvynn tells him as Tyson runs onto the stone circle to join him.

"Hey, no sweat." Tyson tells him.

Lok and Zane stop for a moment, the former, visibly annoyed.

Taking advantage of the pause, Wyvynn informs Tyson, "You should be careful. Those guys are both using heavily modified beyblades. All modifications illegal of course."

"All the more reason you need me here." Tyson smirks.

"Hey, I'm not exactly mod-free either since I used to be one of them." Wyvynn tells him casually.

Kenny then notices the launcher in Wyvynn's grasp. Recalling the results of Judy's trials, he opens his laptop and begins a scan of the current match. Upon reading the angular velocity of Wyvynn's blade, he mumbles a nearly inaudible, "Oh no…"

Hilary, who had been beside Kenny asks, "What's wrong?"

Kenny turns to her, "Wyvynn's about to lose. And if I recall correctly about that launcher he's holding…"

"The Extend-type launcher?" Hilary notices it too now.

"What about it?" Daichi asks.

"Do you remember those results Judy sent us right before we left Japan?" Kenny asks him.

Hilary and the other members of the Bladebreakers nearby recall the information as Tala and his team look at Kenny confused.

"If I remember correctly, wasn't that launcher dangerous to its users?" Ray asks.

Kenny nods. "At least if the users are normal human beings."

"But Wyvynn's a Magnanimae." Hilary points out.

"That's exactly what I'm worried about. We have no clue what happens to them if _they_ lose a match using that launcher." Kenny panics. "Of all the things I should've asked about, I forgot to ask about this the other night!"

"Well in that case, let's help him." Ray suggests.

"Yeah!" Max agrees.

Tala then looks over to Lux. Seeing as she is still sitting so still and expressionless, he suggests, "I think one of us should go check on Lux. Something seems wrong with her."

Hilary turns to her too. Noticing her current state, she nods, "I'll go."

The others nod as Max and Ray run to the center of the platform to join the fight.

"Leave, this to us." Max tells Wyvynn, taking a spot besides Tyson.

"You should go have a little rest." Ray tells him, arriving beside Max.

Wyvynn nods, recalling and retrieving his blade. He then begins heading in Kenny's direction. On his way, Hilary's voice catches his attention some ways away.

"Lux?" Hilary calls to the girl on the ground. "Hey, come on, say something. Lux?"

Lux does not respond but continues staring blankly as she had been since their arrival.

Tala and the others, who were near Kenny, notice the commotion too now and turn momentarily from Tyson, Max and Ray's battle. Concerned, Tala approaches her. Seeing him approach, Hilary looks to him with a somewhat pleading look as if asking for some help. Tala bends down beside her.

"Hey Lux," he shakes her gently, "What's wrong?"

Tala and Hilary wait for a response.

"Lux," Tala tries again.

This time however, Lux reacts slightly.

Wyvynn, who had been watching, now notices the small object in Lux's clutch. Realizing what it is, he pales.

"That's…" he begins.

Kenny turns to him, "What is it?"

Wyvynn is about to reply but stops as Lux stands up, turning to face Tala.

"Lux, you're okay!" Hilary reacts in relief.

However, that expression quickly fades as Lux takes out her silver blade. Tala and Hilary then watch as she proceeds to remove Elfe's bitchip from it before flinging the small object aside into the distance below the cliff.

"What are you…" Tala reacts surprised by her actions.

He is cut off when Lux attaches her blade to her launcher. She then points it at him with one hand while holding the small glowing object in the her other hand. In this time, her expression became cold and her posture, majestic.

In a cold voice, she states, "You are my enemy."

...

On a rocky beach under some seaside cliffs on the island, Kai and Ventus continue to exchange blows with their blades under the moonlight. Having been battling for a while now, the two of them have become quite exhausted. Their movements during their match have also led them a good distance away from the foot of the temple bound path.

Now at the brink of collapsing, Kai musters his energy into a final attack. He calls to his bitbeast, "Dranzer!"

The blue blade and the fiery phoenix it houses charge forward towards an equally tired out Ventus's Siegfried blade. The collision produces a few destructive shockwaves, causing some of the nearby rocky terrain to crumble and fall. For a few moments, nothing but the clash of the sea against the rocky coast and the faint spinning of the blades are heard. Both at their limits now, Kai and Ventus both kneel onto the ground, their blades equally worn out and wobbling.

After a while, Kai asks, panting, "Answer my question, Ventus."

An exhausted Ventus stares back at him silently.

"Did you plan this all along?" Kai asks. "And where's Lux?"

"I am under no obligation to answer your question regarding Lux." Ventus states calmly despite his worn stature. "However, since you persistently ask, I will tell you the following: I did not plan any of what I am currently doing. I am simply following the orders I was given."

"Orders?" Kai repeats.

"As the Knight, I am obligated to obey the command of the King should he exercise his power to choose me as his vassal." Ventus explains monotonously. "On the night of that video call, I had encountered Lok and he had chosen me to serve him as such."

"So you betrayed us?" Kai asks. "What happened to all those plans you had against him?"

"I did not really betray." Ventus says simply. "I am not acting of my own accord at the moment. As for my plans, they will not be carried out since Lok's power has compelled me to serve him."

"So you're just a puppet right now." Kai summarizes. He then asks, "Did you know you could become this way?"

Ventus nods.

For a while, they are silent again as neither had anything to say but at the same time lacked the strength to do anything in battle. Their blades simply spin weakly.

Kai then breaks the silence and asks. "There's one more thing I've been curious about."

Ventus wordlessly urges him to ask on.

"Why did you send Lux to Japan to begin with?" Kai asks. "When you freed her, why did you choose Japan of all countries?"

"I chose Japan because it was the place the organization backing Bizmark had the least influence." Ventus replies.

"An organization backing them up?" Kai asks.

"Yes." Ventus replies. "I did not know which one until recently. However, the data I obtained from their systems showed that their influence was minimum in your country so I sent her there with the hopes that it will be the safest place for her to be in."

"And which organization was it that was backing up the laboratory?" Kai asks.

"A German based company that rivals that of your family's." Ventus replies. "I've mentioned it to you once back at the estate in Sweden. It is my belief that the presence of your family's company was what limited their activities in Japan."

"The Schneifel Corporation?" Kai recalls the name.

Ventus nods.

Kai thinks for a moment. Although it is not surprising to him that his grandfather had made enemies, he was a little surprised that of all the organizations responsible, it'd be one with rivaling ties to that of his family's.

'If the Schneifel Corporation is a rivaling company to that of grandfather's, they must deal in military equipment as well.' Kai concludes. 'But that would mean that lab must somehow benefit a company specializing in weaponry. What did they hope to gain from those experiments?'

However, his thoughts are interrupted by some loud voices nearby. Kai looks up to the source of the yelling above the cliff.

"Lux, stop!" the somewhat faint but familiar voice of Tala calls.

'Lux…?' Kai processes. He then concludes, 'She must be at the top of that cliff…'

Noticing his shift in attention, Ventus gets up slowly from the ground.

Kai forces himself off the ground as well and tries to make a run for the path his boat had landed in front of on the shore. 'She's closeby…I have to find her…'

"Not so fast." Ventus stops him with his weakened but still spinning blade.

Kai glances back to him silently, in no condition to continue the battle.

"Lux, what's wrong with you, snap out of it!" Hilary yells above.

"Lux!" Tyson yells in a concerned tone. "What are you doing? What's wrong?"

Kai then hears sounds of fiercely clashing beyblades above them. He turns to Ventus angrily and growls. "What have you and that freak done with Lux?"

"To my knowledge, nothing has been done to influence or harm her. We had simply knocked her unconscious for a few hours" Ventus replies simply.

Kai eyes him for a moment with distrust. In the state Ventus seems to be in, there is no personal reason for him to lie but at the same time, he could probably be commanded to lie according to what he had just told him. Kai turns back up to the cliff for a moment as he listens to the sound of the beybattle occurring above.

"Lux, what's wrong?" Tala's voice sounds again, followed by a fury of sounds from rapidly clashing beyblades.

"At least answer us!" Another voice soon follows.

Deciding something must be very wrong up there, Kai, once again, tries to dash off to the path leading up to the cliff top. However, to his dismay, Ventus attempts again to stop him.

"Out of my way!" an enraged Kai shouts. He then summons Dranzer to back him up.

"I will not allow you to pass." Ventus states simply.

"Try and stop me!" Kai retorts. He then orders his bitbeast to use the technique he had been saving, "Dranzer, Plasma Phoenix Soul!"

White flames and a fiery, scarlet aura begin to surround Dranzer. As it grows brighter and brighter, Ventus shields his eyes and waits for the light to subside. When his vision is restored, before him is a nearly fully revitalized, blue blade. Kai himself also appears slightly more energetic than before.

Without hesitation, Kai slams his blade with renewed energy into Ventus's weakened one, effectively ending their battle in his victory. Deeming this enough, he retrieves Dranzer and runs off, without giving even a second look to Ventus who remains where he is.

...

Sprinting along the coast back to where he had landed before the grove, something glints on the moonlit beach and catches Kai's eyes. He stops momentarily and takes a closer look. Realizing that the object is a bitchip, he picks it up off the sand.

"Elfe?" Kai recognizes it.

'But what is it doing all the way out here?' he wonders.

Pocketing it for now, he resumes his dash and takes the path that Ventus had come from before.

...

Eventually spotting the helicopter that had visited the Alfhild's villa, he continues to charge upward, stopping only when he reached the end of the path. Upon making his landing on the stone platform of the temple, Kai hears a horrible shriek. He looks around on the temple ruins.

His friends stood in roughly groups of three scattered about his side of the stone platform. Their faces are filled with nearly uniform expressions of horror and shock. Across from them on the other side, a pink haired man gawks in equal awe as well. The source of their trauma, it would seem, is the one winged creature by the altars.

Due to having met the strange demon numerous times in his dreams and having been told of him nearly as frequently, Kai recognizes him immediately by appearance. However something is very different about him now than what he had dreamt. His face is partially covered in blood and the large scaly wing that once stuck out of his head hangs limply, as if about to fall off. He can also see the droplets drip down now, slowly staining the ancient stone pavement. Stuck in a pillar behind him is a familiar silver beyblade. Kai watches as he takes some steps back, clutching the hanging wing on his head in pure, physical agony.

Lok cries in pain. "No…someone…make this stop! It hurts, it hurts, it hurts! Do something about it…!"

"Lok…" Zane tries to approach him. He reaches out a hand to try to at least steady him but is slapped away violently.

As a result, before anyone could stop him, Lok falls over the edge of the cliff. He had stepped too far back without looking and the momentum from his slap had drove him even further back.

Zane reaches out to him to try to save him from his fall but fails, "Lok!"

A faint splash is heard.

Without a word, Zane removes his outer most layer and shoes before diving off the cliff as well.

There is now a moment of stillness and silence as those present take in what had just occurred. Wyvynn, having known the two previously is the first to step forward.

"I'm going to go look for those two." He tells his friends.

Tyson turns to him, "Wyvynn…"

"I know those two aren't the nicest people on earth." Wyvynn states. "Lok lied to me and is pretty much insane and both of them might not have thought of me as anything more than a tool, but I still did spend a good amount of time with them even if they weren't exactly good people."

They are still for a moment.

Wyvynn takes a deep breath. "What I'm trying to say is, I don't feel right leaving those two alone when they need help right now."

Tyson steps up to him and pats him on the shoulder. "Well if you feel this way, we won't stop you."

"Thanks you guys." Wyvynn smiles. "For a moment, I thought you guys might get mad at me."

"Why would we?" Max smiles. "Just be careful, okay?"

"I will," Wyvynn nods. He then takes off by flight over the sea where Lok had fell.

The rest then turn to Lux who had stood still this entire time without much of any expression of shock or emotion over the ordeal. Although physically, her body is unharmed and appears completely normal, Kai could see the significant difference in her facial expression. There was not a trace of the innocent girl whom he had spent much of the past two months with. Instead, her expression is remarkably similar to the time when she had launched her beyblade for the first time in a practice match with Tyson.

Lux eyes her blade on the pillar for a moment and then turns to the blade belonging to Lok that had been left behind. Picking up the latter, which was conveniently closer, she attaches it to her launcher. After a quick cold glance towards Kai, she returns her attention to Tala.

"Lux, stop this!" Ray calls out to her as she aims her launcher at him again but she pays him no mind. He then notices Kai at the entrance to the temple platform. "Kai!"

The others now notice him here as well.

Kai turns from Lux to Ray and asks, "What's going on?"

"I don't know, but she's been sort of strange since we got here." Ray tells him.

"She tried to attack Tala when he went to check on her with Hilary." Kenny tells him.

Kai turns first to Tala who appears to be alright and then back to Lux who had briefly turned to him due to the commotion made by his presence. Their eyes meet but she remains calm.

"Lux…" he utters in an almost inaudible voice.

Seeing her this way made him feel a strange discomfort in his chest. Although not the first time he had seen her this way, it bothers him that she no longer reacts happily at the sight of him. What more, he also has no idea how to deal with this. Whereas he somewhat knew the cause of her last transformation, this time, he has not the slightest clue. From what he could see, she was no longer using the same launcher as before after all.

Kai is pulled out of his thoughts as a distant sound grows louder and closer. He and his friends look up to greet the bright front light of a helicopter flying overhead. It highlights the group on the temple platform for a moment, especially the uncaring Lux, before swerving away. Moments later, it turns again and begins to hover above the water some distance behind Lux.

"Is that…?" Tyson turns to where Lok's helicopter had been parked to see that it has not moved from there.

"Who could it be?" Max asks, puzzled.

"I don't know…" Kenny responds, equally clueless.

"Maybe they're responding to that distress signal you sent out." Daichi suggests.

Two more helicopters arrive moments later and practically surround the temple. All the while, Lux remains calm and still, aware but unbothered by the new helicopters' presence.

Kai then watches as the door of the first hovering helicopter behind Lux opens. Through the unfocused light of the other two aircrafts that allow him to see, he makes out a suited, knelt-down silhouette inside pointing something long in their direction. Squinting a little, he tries to make out what the long object is.

Soon realizing that the object pointed at them is some form of firearm, he freezes.

* * *

**To be continued in the sequel...**

**(For more information regarding release dates, please see my profile)**

**Additionally, let me know what you thought!**


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